Collective Worship
As a Church Of England school, we are committed to offering high quality collective worship. Collective worship at St James's is Christian in nature and invitational but also takes into consideration our local community and an awareness to be inclusive to those of different faiths. It is the unique heartbeat of our school and is offered as part of a wider opportunity for pupils and adults to encounter faith by engaging in conversations about God, both as individuals and together.
Our pupils and adults can expect the worship they encounter to be inspirational. They enable our school family to ask big questions about who we are and why we do what we do, motivating us all to think differently and to inspire us all to become courageous advocates of causes. We create daily opportunities for an encounter with faith in God. Through our daily collective worship parents, pupils and adults can expect a recognisable structure that is used whether in times of crisis or celebration. Our daily worship provides us with an opportunity to gather and support one another as one community.
Collective worship at our school will do the following:
Explore our vision 'Let your light shine ~ Be the best we can be!'
Develop virtues such as resilience and determination to develop both character whilst contributing to academic successes.
Reflect upon our wider school values.
Help pupils and adults to appreciate the relevance of faith in our modern world by encountering the teachings of Jesus and the Bible.
Offer the opportunity to grow spiritually through experiences of prayer, stillness, worship and reflection.
Enable our school community to appreciate worship in different ways such as music, silence, story, prayer, reflection as well as through varied liturgical and other traditions of Anglican worship, festivals and termly Eucharist services.
Enable pupils to develop skills through planning, leading and evaluation of our collective worship.
Eucharist Services and School-Led Church Services
Our close relationship with St James Church allows us to have a Eucharist Service in school each term. A member of the clergy, staff and pupils lead the service together for the whole school community including governors, parents and the church congregation. In the Summer Term, the service takes place outside in our beautiful school grounds. We also lead a Sunday service twice an academic year at church which is a lovely way for the school community to further strengthen our relationship with the church congregation. There may be those who are uncomfortable to enter through this open door of worship and therefore we recognise the right of withdrawal from collective worship for those families who wish to exercise this right.
Year 6 Confirmation
Each year, pupils in Year 6 can choose to be prepared for confirmation in school. The service then takes place at church with the Bishop. This is a very special part of who we are as a church school and is one of the highlights of the school year.
Grace: ‘It felt special to be confirmed in church because it was like I was becoming a part of another family.’
Emma: ‘I felt a different person afterwards. Bishop Martin made the service special but also fun.'
