A scruffy, disused courtyard in the centre of our Upper Site has been transformed into a peaceful prayer garden. Classes can hold their collective worship here and the Prayer Leaders have already prayed the Rosary in the prayer garden during some lunchtimes.
Local artist Audrey, of Montet Designs, worked with us last month to create this stunning collaborative mosaic to decorate the garden. Every pupil and staff member in KS1 and KS2 had a chance to add their own piece of mosaic to the design (can you spot your part)?
Year 5 pupils designed the theme of the mosaic. They wanted a large cross in the middle to represent our school value of ‘Faith’; children playing, praying and learning new skills to represent our values of ‘Friendship’ and ‘Determination’; a dove to represent peace and our school value of ‘Unity’; and trees and leaves to symbolise our school value of ‘Respect’, in this case for the environment. The trees also remind us of our lovely school grounds and the historic trees planted there, as well as reminding us that we are ‘learning and growing’ together. Finally, the children wanted to include our school logo, which is surrounded by the orchids which used to grow on our site. Audrey skilfully brought the children’s ideas to life.
Although already in use, our prayer garden is not yet finished. Our prayer leaders have many ideas to continue to turn this into a very special space where we can worship God and be close to Him, finding peace during the bustle and busyness of the school day.