From their very first days in St. Wilfrid’s our children continue the journey many began when they were baptised. One of the first hymns they sing is “ Our God is a Great Big God… and He holds us in His hands” Their friendship with God is nurtured throughout their time in St Wilfrid’s.
Our school serves St Mary's Parish in Bishop Auckland and we try to stay informed and involved in parish life. We have family masses over the year - opportunities for our pupils and their families to take and active role in the Sunday liturgy. Fr David Coxon joined us as parish priest in September 2024.
Each class has a focus area and the children choose what they wish to display there, relating it to the parable and class prayers of that week.
Morning prayer in class is based round a parable or miracle and all our children are given opportunities to lead worship. In class, this can be in the form of
- Choosing how they GATHER
- Choosing how they RESPOND to the WORD
- Choosing the MISSION
We come together in Key Stage families each week for Collective Worship using statements to live by. Our prayer room is available to our children every break time for quiet reflection and prayer. In the prayer room, they are given opportunities to further explore the theme of the key stage worship through a range of thought provoking activities. We also celebrate Mass in school and at church and our families and parish community are invited to join us.
We have close links with our local church, St. Mary’s. A regular Sunday Family Mass takes place there, with many of our children taking an active part. First Holy Communion takes place at St Mary’s and all our children attend Mass in church on special occasions.
During their time at St Wilfrid’s we nurture each child’s love of God and their understanding that they are very precious in God’s eyes. We help them grow in faith through a rich RE curriculum that encourages them to reflect spiritually, to think ethically and theologically and to be aware of the demands of religious commitment in everyday life. We hope Year 6 will leave us as religiously literate and engaged young people, who have grown in friendship with God.
To view our RE policy and Collective Worship Policy, visit our Policies page.