Following a restructure of a part of the school, we are delighted to now have a chapel which can seat 60 people. A staff vote led to it being named Saint Patrick’s Chapel. We welcomed Bishop Patrick into school to bless this wonderful sacred space during a pastoral visit. The chapel, the altar and the lectern were all blessed during a short service which was attended by pupils, staff and governors and where are choir led the celebrations with their beautiful singing.
The chapel offers a place of peace and quiet reflection for anyone in school. It is a welcoming and inclusive space. We recognise that we are very lucky to have such an important sacred space. The chapel is taken care of primarily by our Lay Chaplain who changes the altar fronts to represent the liturgical seasons of the church, and who provides prayerful activities linked to these or other key events such as saints days.
Staff and students at the academy have been involved in the design of the chapel. The stained glass windows were created as part of a Year 7 project, which involved the students undertaking research on St Peter and St Paul’s church. Each window is a different part of the church and it demonstrates the intrinsic link between the school and the church. Year 9 pupils created stunning chalk drawings of The Beatitudes and these are on permanent display at the back of the chapel. We are also in the process of creating some Stations of the Cross which will be installed in the near future. We also have a display wall which displays the Catholic Life of the school and includes a range of art work and prayers created by students during their year group mission days throughout the year.
