Church Life
The church school distinctiveness of St. Mary the Virgin Primary School is underpinned by our relationship with the Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin Gillingham. The school and church work in partnership to provide an educational and spiritual experience that starts right from the moment a child is welcomed to the school with our special ‘Welcome Service’ through to the time we say farewell in our ‘Year 6 Leaver’s Service’.
The vision of St. Mary’s Church is ‘Open to God, Open to All’ and that is an ethos that is embedded in the partnership between church and school, where every child and member of staff is valued as an individual loved by God and a member of the church family.
Some of the many ways church and school work in partnership are:
- Members of the clergy team take Collective Worship on a Tuesday morning, opening the Bible and worshipping in a fun and interactive way.
- Open the Book – weekly visits by teams from the church to explore Bible stories through drama
- Special services – throughout the seasons of the year we worship together and also celebrate those special moments in a child’s life in the school from welcome to moving on to Secondary School. Year 6’s attend a special Leaver’s Event at the Church.
- Foundation Governors – representatives of the church serve as Foundation Governors on the School’s Governing Board.
- Church visits – groups of children from all years regularly make trips to the church and whole school worship takes place in church for special events (such as Easter and Christmas services).
- Clergy and church volunteers are involved in all aspects of school life. The school also takes an active part in the mission and outreach committee of the church to reach out to the wider community of Gillingham. This partnership between school and church is mutually flourishing and much valued by all.
- The clergy team work closely in partnership with the school to provide pastoral care to children, parents and staff and we feel privileged to walk with the school community who we see as friends.
For more information on the Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Gillingham please see www.gillinghamanglican.co.uk
The school and church are within the Diocese of Salisbury and more information on the Diocese can be found on www.salisbury.anglican.org