The Diocese of York Education team is looking forward to welcoming its Year 6 pupils from Church primary schools and Year 2 pupils from Church infant schools to the inaugural Leavers’ Services in late June and early July.
Hosted at four locations across the Diocese (St Martin’s Scarborough, Selby Abbey, Beverley Minster and All Saints Northallerton), these services will be a chance for the Church school communities to come together to give thanks for the time spent at diocesan Church schools and give pupils an opportunity to look forward to the things which lie ahead.
The services will be called ‘Stepping Forward’, and will be based around the theme of footprints and will give pupils a chance to reflect on the account of Jesus walking on the water in Matthew 14.
Through drama, music and interactive prayer, students from our four secondary academies (All Saints Academy Ingleby Barwick, Manor Academy York, Archbishop Holgate’s School York and Archbishop Sentamu Academy Hull) will lead the services, having previously planned and prepared the content and resources. Each pupil will take away an individual footprint bookmark to remind them of the service and each school attending will also receive a candle and poster to pass on to the next year group as part of their ‘leaving’ in their own school context.
We are looking forward to welcoming over 1200 students to these services. This is the first time that the Diocese has hosted specific services in this way and hope that it might become a regular feature of the school year. They supplement, rather than replace, an individual school’s own arrangements for a Leaver’s Service which is often hosted in their local church and involves parents and the rest of the school community.