Diocesan schools come together in annual service

Clipston School children learning about the history of the Cathedral wih Alex Carton, Head of Learning

On Thursday 29^th September over 900 students from 32 schools attended the annual Diocesan Schools Service in Peterborough Cathedral. This was the first time the service of dedication and thanksgiving had taken place since the covid pandemic and it was wonderful seeing so many of our schools being able to join together in worship.

For most of the children from Clipston Primary School in Market Harborough this was their first visit to the cathedral, with many of the students at the school coming into contact with church life for the first time once they join the school. The visit, which included a morning session with the education team at the cathedral, saw the children making pilgrimage badges, learning about the history of the building and even climbing the tower!

Headteacher Emma Mercer explained; ‘we normally attend the service every other year which means that everyone in our mixed year 5/6 class gets the opportunity to visit the cathedral. It’s all about their spiritual direction allowing them the opportunity to experience something bigger than them, making a connection with their mother church and developing their cultural capital’.

The children, oblivious to these overarching themes, were thoroughly engaged, clearly soaking up the history from the Saxon and Tudor periods, visiting the site of the tombs of Katharine of Aragon and Mary Queen of Scots, examining medieval graffiti and even admiring the portrait of a gravedigger.  For a few of them however the highlight was definitely the tower climb and the unrivalled views over the city.

The service was preceded by the presentation of bibles to those in senior leadership roles in schools across the diocese who had been appointed during the pandemic. Richard Ormston, Archdeacon of Northampton and Chair of the Diocesan Board of Education, thanked them for their dedicated service to education during such a difficult period and led prayers for their work and for the students in their schools.

The combined junior choir.

The Bishop Stopford School Brass Ensemble with the combined senior choir.

The afternoon service was a showcase of many of the schools musical talents with both a combined junior choir and senior choir. The school choirs of All Saints Church of England Primary School Northampton, All Saints Church of England Primary School Peterborough, All Saints Church of England Primary School Wellingborough, Glapthorn Church of England Primary School and Polebrook Church of England Primary School sang ‘Indescribable’ (Chris Tomalin) and ‘When you Believe’  (Kenneth Edmonds and Stephen Schwartz). 

The senior choir had members from Malcolm Arnold Academy Choir, Oakham School Choir, Uppingham School Choir, The Peterborough School Choir and The King’s (The Cathedral) School Choir, who sang ‘I Was Glad’ (Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry) and ‘The Hallelujah Chorus’ from The Messiah (George Frideric Handel). It was a great joy to experience the sound of so many young voices filling the cathedral.

The congregation was addressed by Bishop Donald, who spoke on the reading from 1 Corinthians 15, reflecting on the opportunity life gives us to pick a team to follow and how we have been given the choice to pick Jesus as our team captain. The service was conducted by the Archdeacon of Northampton, Richard Ormston, with the Archdeacon of Oakham Alison Booker leading the prayers alongside Benjamin Meadows, Sarah Allen-Farrelly and Thahaa Sohail from The Peterborough School.  

We look forward to this annual event being firmly back on the calendar as a unique occasion when so many of our schools come together in thanksgiving and praise. As Emma Mercer from Clipston Primary School remarked ‘being part of the diocese is so important for support and togetherness’.

Headteachers Suman Bedi, Tom Burrows, Natalie Coates, Louise Cook, Sandra Prewer, Alice Edwards, Jo Griffin, John Harrison, Ian Heard, Laurie Hill, JD HIves, Jac Johnson, Kathryn Crawford, Carla Thom, Georgia Reynolds, Neil Tyler and Darren Epton Smith who all received their Bibles pictured with Archdeacon Richard and Peter Cantley, Director of Education.