St Werburgh's & St Columba's Catholic Life
Welcome to Catholic Life at St Werburgh's & St Columba's Primary School
Following in the footsteps of Jesus to love, learn and laugh is at the heart of all that we do at St Werburgh’s and St Columba’s Catholic Primary School.
One of the aims of our mission is to be a school where the teachings of Christ and the Church are embedded in every aspect of school life, so that the love of God is proclaimed in all our words and actions.
Through religious education and our strong commitment to prayer, love, charity and service, we seek to share the Gospel with each other, the people of Chester and the whole world.
This page will tell you all about how we live out this mission in our school.
1. We enjoy strong links with our Parish – The Parishes of St Werburgh’s and St Columba’s
Our school is within walking distance to both of our parishes. We often walk to both parishes for different events so we can easily visit these beautiful places for prayer. We regularly see our parish priests, Father Paul, Father William and Father Desmond, who celebrate the liturgical year with us. We are delighted that many families join the parishes for Mass on a Sunday where there is also a chance for children to attend children’s liturgy. For more information, see the parish websites
St Werburgh's Roman Catholic Church - Chester (stwerburghchester.co.uk)
The Catholic Parish of St Columba and St Theresa, Chester – (sscolumbaandtheresa.co.uk)
2. We follow and celebrate the Church’s liturgical year
Our RE curriculum, prayer and charity activities all follow the Church’s liturgical year. Through this, we grow in love and understanding of the life and teachings of Jesus, whose example we try to live out every day. Displays around school and liturgical celebrations reflect the Church’s seasons as these images show:
3. We reach out to help people in need
Reaching out to help others, just like Jesus did, is an important part of our mission as a Catholic School.
Children in KS2 who are inspired by the example of St Vincent de Paul meet regularly as our Mini Vinnies. Their mission is to organise activities to promote outreach work to help people in need throughout the world. Our Mini Vinnies supports a different project to help others every term. They have helped to collect money and items to support CAFOD, Caritas Good Shepherd , Chester Aid for the Homeless, local parish and more. The children in this group show great dedication and commitment and help us all to live out our mission to bring God’s love and care to the whole world. Children throughout the school also fundraise and we participated in the Lent Walk.
4. We are strengthened by the Eucharist
The Mass supports us and strengthens us on our journey of faith and we celebrate Mass as a school in St Werburgh's ad St Columba's Catholic Primary School at important points in the year, for example, the start of term, the end of the school year, our school feast days. Children in both KS1 and KS2 visit the parish churches to attend Mass once a year. KS2 pupils have Class Masses which families and friends of the school are invited to attend. During Lent we hold a Reconciliation Service in school. At the beginning of Lent we hold an Ashes Service where ashes are distributed.
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5. We Grow in Faith
We aim to provide varied opportunities for children to grow in their faith. Every year, children in Year 3 visit our parish churches where they take part in retreat days to prepare for their First Forgiveness and First Holy Communion. Throughout the year other year groups participate in retreats in our school grounds. During October we say the Rosary. In November we remember those who died for us during the war and all of the saints and holy souls are also commemorated.
Our school leads the preparation meetings for the parents/ carers of children who will be preparing to receive the sacraments . We work closely with the Catechists and parish priests. These meetings are open to the families of children who do not attend our school.
6. We celebrate with the wider Church community.
We enjoy taking part in liturgical celebrations with the wider Church community. In February, we celebrated the feast of our St Werburgh and in June the feast of St Columba. In September 2022, we were delighted to join with many others to visit the relics of St Bernadette when they were at St Werburgh's Church. We attend a Holy Reunion Mass for all children who have made their First Holy Communion. This is attended by other local Catholic primary schools and takes place at the Chester Catholic High School.
7. We live our faith daily
Most importantly of all, every day, we work together and support each other so that each person can be the best person that God has created them to be. In all our interactions, we strive to follow the example of Jesus, showing love, compassion and forgiveness to all and sharing the joy of the Gospel in friendship together.
8. We pray together
At St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School, prayer and liturgy allows us all – children, staff, parents and parishioners – to come together to know, to serve, and to love God. Prayer is part of our daily life and over the week, we pray in a variety of groupings and. Prayer is an expression of our love for God and through prayer, we receive the gifts we need to become better followers of Jesus. Parents and parishioners are invited to join our times of prayer and liturgy, parents are invited to our year group Prayer and Liturgy in KS1.
9. We learn about the lives of others
We regularly join with national initiatives which help us to learn about and reflect on the lives of others, for example,
Black History Month and Refugee Week. We support charitable organisations supporting people in the local community and wider world such as Stick and Step and the Downs Syndrome Society.
10. We live out Catholic Social Teachings
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is rooted in Scripture, formed by the wisdom of Church leaders and linked to faith in action. It is our moral compass, guiding us on how to live out our faith in the world.
At St Werburgh's and St Columba'sCatholic Primary School, Catholic Social Teaching underpins the essence of our daily life in school. It is embedded in our learning through our religious education curriculum and it is lived out through our mission as a Catholic school. We use CAFOD Catholic Social Teaching resources to support our learning.
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