Catholic Life of St Paul's

St. Paul's Path

All in the family of St. Paul's strive to live out our Mission everyday. We all aim to 'grow in God's love to be the best we can be.' We have linked our RESPECT values to scripture and each day we follow in Jesus' footsteps growing in Resilience, showing Empathy for others, becoming more Self-aware, demonstrating Positivity, striving for Excellence, improving Communication and developing Teamwork.

Please download a copy of St. Paul's Path and see examples of how we grow in God's love by following the example of Jesus.

St. Paul's Path

The Catholic life of St. Paul’s is rich in opportunities for children to encounter God and to deepen their relationship with Him as a loving, compassionate Father. Through prayer, both traditional and informal, through liturgies and Religious Education lessons, where children receive direct teaching of the faith, through the relationships and support for each other that children, staff and parents enjoy within the school community, we enable children to come to know and love God.

Religious icons can be found throughout the school. Displays of work in RE can be seen in classrooms and all around the school and our whole school spiritual days are celebrated. St. Paul’s has a dedicated prayer space for worship which provides opportunities for quiet reflection through themed prayer stations. Each class has a prayer focus area, with a liturgical cloth in the appropriate colour. The Christian values at the heart of our Catholic faith incorporate the British values and we aim in everything we do to further each child's sense of commitment and responsibility to themselves, to others and in the wider world.

Prayer and worship

Prayer and worship are central to the daily life of our school. We aim to provide opportunities for children's spiritual growth and development through participation in a variety of forms of worship and through experiencing all forms of prayer: formal, informal, spontaneous, private, shared, petitionary and meditative. Pupils are actively involved in planning and leading worship, both in class groups and whole school settings. Shared acts of worship take place in an atmosphere of reflection and stillness, where we encourage each other to listen to God speaking to us and to respond. Children are encouraged to write prayers and this is a skill which we explicitly teach. We enjoy celebrating Mass both in school and in our parish church. We have strong links with the parish community and Christian churches in the Alnwick area.

The school as a Catholic Community

All staff, led by the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, R.E Leader and Governors are aware that the school's foundations are built on the Catholic faith and beliefs and that it is our shared responsibility to share the Catholic faith to the children in our care. Staff receive regular in-service training as part of their continuous professional development. Staff pray and work together to support each other in providing the very best Religious Education possible for the pupils. Learning in RE is at the core of the curriculum and we ensure that the Bishop's directive is followed in allocating 10% of curriculum time to RE lessons. The Governing Body, led by the Chair and the Governor responsible for RE, provide outstanding support and commitment to the central place of RE in the school. We hold the belief that we share the role of educators of the faith with the parents of our pupils and we strive to keep them fully informed of what their child is learning at school and to support them in what they can do at home to further their child's understanding of the faith. Parents are welcomed to collective worship, Masses and other liturgies throughout the year. We enjoy celebrating Mass both in school and in our parish church. St. Paul’s has strong links with the parish community. We regularly welcome the Alnwick Open the Book Christian volunteers into school to share key Bible stories and work with the Christians Together in Alnwick.