Worship

Our Vision

At St Thomas’ School, we strive to unlock the hidden treasures within our children, their families and the parish community through a culture of lifelong learning.  Acknowledging everyone as unique, all God’s children are welcomed, valued and respected, achieving and thriving in an environment which is safe, stimulating and enriching.

• Inspirational teaching which develops confident learners
• Children and adults who take ownership of their learning and are proud of their achievements
• Highest standards of progress and achievement
• Families and a community who support learning
• Everything underpinned by our clear Christian values

2 Corinthians 4.7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.

Worship and R.E.

St. Thomas' is a Church of England school and at present most of the children who attend are of the Muslim Faith.  We begin each day with whole school worship when we say prayers to recognise the place God has in our lives.  Parents are welcome to attend, though there is only room for a few at present.  All children follow a course of Religious Education and we observe both Christian and Muslim Festivals.

On 11th November all the children from Reception to Year 6 visited the church for a special remembrance service and to pay respects to the fallen. The children read poems, sang songs linked to the war, held a two minute silence, listened to the last post and six children read their prayers that were chosen as winners as part of a Remembrance Day competition. The school has held a Remembrance Day service every year because we believe that it is important to pass on to the next generation the message that there can be no winners in war. Additionally, we want our pupils to reflect on the sacrifice members of our local community made in order to create a better world.

We was very lucky to have Chris Lubbe an inspirational speaker in school to talk to the children. Chris Lubbe joined pupils from Year 2 to Year 6 to talk about his experiences with apartheid and the trauma it had caused within his childhood and young adulthood. He explained the horror of apartheid but emphasised Nelson Mandela’s teaching of forgiveness and unity between races.

He spoke of how Mandela used sport to unit people in South Africa despite the controversy surrounding the springbok emblem which still carried the connotations of white supremacy in South Africa. Chris Lubbe elaborated on his own encounters of forgiveness to those who had previously tortured him for standing against the apartheid system and is now very good friends with those who had done so. He presented his respect for Nelson Mandela as more than an iconic leader but also as a personal friend who taught him about how forgiveness can change the world and that there is no need for violence to resolve violence.

All pupils came away from the assembly with a sincere sense of acceptance and inspiration from Chris Lubbe’s words and examples of how forgiveness and patience with others can change the world for the better.