Liturgies throughout the School

We have a beginning of school year mass, where we celebrate the new school year, and then as we proceed through the year, each class has the opportunity to celebrate a class assembly. Mass is also celebrated on special days throughout the year such as All Saints Day and The Epiphany, as well as having prayer services during Lent and Advent.

In school, we are very lucky to have our own chapel. It is here where we celebrate class masses during the year, which is an opportunity for classes to reflect and pray together.

Collective worship

At St. Peter and St. Paul, we strive to provide high-quality prayer and liturgical experiences to help children develop spiritually and personally. These communal acts of prayer, as well as Church liturgical celebrations, are an essential part of our school’s daily routine. They are fundamental to our school’s ethos and way of life, as well as offering a way to strengthen our relationship with God. Acts of worship can occur at any moment during the day. It could take the form of a single act of worship within our school community or individual acts of worship in class. Our daily acts of collective worship encourage staff and children to pray with consideration and reverence by providing a variety of prayer experiences, including whole-school masses, assemblies, and prayer services, as well as informal classroom and individual reflection prayer. Children participate as much as possible in leading and contributing to school worship and the pupil chaplaincy team often lead us in prayer.

Pupil-led worship

We enjoyed the spirituality of the message. They all did very well and spoke beautifully. (Year 5 parent)

Each week, a group of children in each class lead a collective worship session with their peers. Children reflect on gospel stories as well as lead prayers, songs and other chosen activities. The children select the Bible reading that they want their session to be focused upon and each session includes four steps called ‘Gather’, ‘Listen’, ‘Response’ and ‘Mission’.

• Gather – a welcoming or gathering
• Listen – a reading from Scripture
• Response – an activity or discussion about relevant aspects of our own lives today
• Mission – an activity or discussion to explore how the Scripture relates to our own lives

Each class performs a class assembly every term. These assemblies provide an opportunity for parents to witness and engage in the spiritual growth of their children. It allows them to experience first-hand the prayers, reflections, and rituals that their children have been preparing and practising.

Here are some comments our parents had about Year 2’s class assembly: ‘The class assembly was super. It’s evident that the children are growing in faith and enjoying it!’ ‘Amazing assembly – full of so much love! Looking forward to the next one.’ ‘It was wonderful to see the class prepare such a beautiful assembly to promote positive messages.’ ‘Very well organised – loved seeing our religion being practiced.’

Our local churches and services

We are delighted to partner with our local churches to celebrate our faith all year round. At special times of year, there are extra services to note.

Christmas services
St Joseph’s Church, Lamb’s Buildings, off Lamb’s Passage, Bunhill Row EC1Y 8LD

Christmas Eve, Tuesday, 24 December 2024
First Mass of Christmas for families and children – 6pm
Mass of Christmas Night – 10pm, followed by Festive Refreshments
Christmas Day, Wednesday, 25 December 2024  – Mass with Carols – 10am