Our Students

Our Students2023-05-23T14:56:52+01:00

Our student community

Join a rich and diverse community of students and scholars who give you the grace to explore your own formation.

When you enrol as a student at St Augustine’s, you are welcomed with open arms into a diverse community of learners.

We recognise that diversity is the key to formation. At St Augustine’s, people from all backgrounds, perspectives, walks of life and church traditions are able to sit down together and enrich one another’s lives and learning experiences.

If you have any questions or concerns about our student community, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly and helpful team.

Ray talks about his first year at St Augustine’s as an ordinand and how his fellow students inspired him to transform how he worshipped.

Who are our students?

While everyone engages in study for their own unique reasons, St Augustine’s students fall into two main categories:

  • Theology students – These are students who have chosen to study theology for their own intellectual and spiritual fulfilment, such as enriching their understanding of their Christian faith.
  • Students training for ministry – These students are studying in order to answer a call to ministry. Our ordinands are engaged in training for Anglican ordained ministry, while our Readers are training for licensed lay ministry.

Whether you are a theology student or studying to prepare for ministry, you will still be learning and attending classes together.

Many of our students have decided to pursue theological study or training for ministry later in life. Flexible study pathways mean students can fit theological learning around work, family, care or volunteer commitments.

Our Director of Studies, Dr Guido de Graaff, chats about the different reasons student choose to study with us.

How do our students benefit from learning together?

As a student, being able to share with and learn from your fellow scholars is integral to your academic experience and ongoing formation.

  • Connecting with students from different traditions helps you to appreciate the depth and breadth of faiths within the Church of England.

  • Learning alongside students from different backgrounds, age ranges, and church traditions allows you to expand your worldview in a judgement-free setting.
  • For those interested in church leadership, getting to know students with unique or differing points of view gives you an excellent grounding in understanding a diverse congregation.

St Augustine’s is a safe and inclusive college where we encourage students to share their own experience or viewpoint without fear of being misunderstood or dismissed.

Similarly, we protect and uplift our diverse student community by giving everyone the opportunity to learn about and adapt to new insight. We do not tolerate reductive or harmful rhetoric.

St Augustine’s student Tom chats about the college’s emphasis on sharing different perspectives and opinions without fear of judgement.

Meet some of our students

Read about some of our most recent students and their unique experiences finding their way to theological study and joining our student community.

Who is the typical St Augustine’s student?

Our student community attracts people from all walks of life with their own unique experiences, perspectives, and identities.

Diversity of background

As an inclusive college, we are proud to welcome students from all backgrounds and walks of life.

While the focus of your studies is on you and your individual formation, we understand the importance of recognising and holding space for different identities. At St Augustine’s, you’ll learn alongside:

  • students who belong to one or more minority ethnic groups
  • students who are part of the LGBTQ+ community
  • students who may not speak English as a first language
  • students who are disabled or who may have different access needs
  • students who have learning differences or neurodivergence
  • students from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds
  • students from a range of church traditions, with differing churchmanships

Whoever you are and whatever your unique identity, you are welcomed into classrooms where you can expect to feel safe, respected and ready to engage in your ongoing formation.

St Augustine’s staff and students talk about the diversity and inclusivity at the college and how that enhances the learning experience for everyone.

Diversity of churchmanship

At St Augustine’s, students from the whole spectrum of the Church of England tradition have the opportunity to meet, connect, and learn from one another.

Students find themselves working together and building lifelong friendships with people whose experience is very different from their own.

For theology students and ordinands alike, this opportunity allows you to build relationships and explore differences, which, in turn, adds a whole new, exciting dimension to their own formation.

Students with a range of learning experience

If you are a prospective student who hasn’t had cause to think about essay writing in decades, you will certainly not be the only one.

Whether you’re considering studying theology or training for ordination, you will be among fellows students with a range of academic experience. Students may be:

  • returning to higher education years or decades after graduating
  • engaging in university-level study for the first time, having left formal education early in life
  • undertaking a theology degree having previously studied a subject that required little to no essay writing.

Whether you’re familiar with university-level learning or haven’t opened a textbook since school, you’ll be given the necessary tools, support and guidance to flourish in your learning.

Meet the students of St Augustine’s

Come along to one of our open-day style taster events. Meet the staff, chat with fellow students, sit in on classes, and join us in worshipping together.

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