Our Parish Church is St Mary’s Church, Bolton-on-Swale and we are part of the parish of Easby, Skeeby, Brompton-on-Swale and Bolton-on-Swale.
As a school community we all value the close links we have with the parish and with the Church of St Mary’s Bolton-on-Swale.
Open the Book
Each Monday morning members of the Parish Open the Book Team work with our children to lead Collective Worship in school.
Collective Worship in school
Our Vicar supports our Collective Worship in school at special times in the year such as Remembrance, Advent, Ash Wednesday, Lent and our End of Year Leaver’s Service.
Other local clergy support our Collective worship also: Army Padre from Catterick Garrison, Methodist Minister and Chaplain from Saint Francis Xavier Secondary School.
Services in St Mary’s Church
As a whole school community we plan and lead worship in St Mary’s Church at Harvest, Christmas and Easter. Our parents, carers, friends, parish and local community join us for these services also.
Parish Links
Our children and staff also join with the parish at special services such as: Blessing for the start of the New School Year; Harvest, Christingle, Confirmation, saying Farewell to our vicar Rev Yvonne. Sometimes our school choir will sing and our children may do readings prayers or help with drama.
Our weekly school newsletter publicises parish services and events and we work closely together.
Some of our Year 5/6 children attend the Parish ‘We are One’ young people’s group and are preparing for Confirmation.
Open Pantry
This is the parish food bank. We collected for this at Harvest and have a collection point in the school entrance area.
Eco School and parish links
As a Green Flag Eco School we work closely with the parish and recycle tin foil in particular to support the Guide Dogs Charity.
Community Links
We visit Scorton Care Home and share our Christmas and Easter music with them.
RE Learning
As part of our RE curriculum we visit St Mary’s Church. In KS1 we take part in a re enactment of a wedding and we learn about the colours, vestments, seasons and festivals of the churches year. In KS2 we re enact a Baptism in Church.
Our children say:
‘We visit St Mary’s Church at special times in the year. We love to be together as a whole school and to worship in such a beautiful place. At Harvest time we say thank you to God for all that we have been given. This year we raised money for the charity Farm Africa and collected tins of food for the Parish Open Pantry’.
‘St Mary’s Church is very beautiful. The stained glass windows help us to remember the life of Jesus. We visited when Queen Elizabeth died and everyone in our class signed the Book of Condolence. We said special prayers for the Queen.’
‘Our Easter Service in church makes me feel happy and joyful. I like to sing and read from the pulpit and I enjoy the drama. Being in church helps me to reflect and think about what happened to Jesus. I like to celebrate him rising from the dead.’
We work closely with the Diocesan Education Team
Our recent SIAMS Review Day report said:
‘Links with the church and local parish are strong. The relationship is one of mutual benefit, with the parish supporting the school with Open the Book, acts of worship and providing the church as a venue for important points in the school calendar. In return, for example, the school contributes to church services at points in the year and a number of pupils in recent years have been confirmed. The school and the church together were described as at the heart of the community.’
Diocesan Links and Ripon Cathedral
We are proud to be part of the Diocese of Leeds and visit Ripon Cathedral regularly. In recent years we have been delighted to host visits from the Bishop of Ripon to our school.
Each year our school choir and Service pupils perform at the Festival of Remembrance in Ripon Cathedral for North Yorkshire’s Service pupils and our Year 6 children attend the Annual Year Leavers Service.
As part of our RE curriculum we work closely with the Cathedral’s Education Team and take part in special RE days. These include: Year 3/4 Easter and Signs and Symbols Workshop and Y5/6 Pilgrimage Workshop.
We also attend special events in the Cathedral such as the ‘Threads through Creation’ art display in 2023 exploring creation with our Y5/6 and linking science and creation in RE and Art. In summer 2024 our Y3/4 children will take part in a Sacred Space Art Workshop.
Choir members sing for the Parish Harvest Festival
We light our candles and prepare for Collective Worship with the Open the book Team and our School Worship Team.
Collective Worship with the Open the Book Team
Class 1 children sing as part of our Harvest Festival Service and we all share in our worship together
Year 6 Leavers Service in Ripon Cathedral
Exploring the Threads through Creation art exhibition in Ripon Cathedral