Chaplaincy
Our aim is to be a Church school where matters of faith, service, worship and Christian values are at the heart of everything we do by:
- Helping the pupils and all staff to engage with their feelings, their felt sense of things, their knowledge through their senses and the development of their emerging awareness of faith, morality and responsibility.
- Celebrating Catholic spirituality involving the Eucharist and other sacraments, prayer and the sacramental nature of the Church as well as the place of Our Lady and the saints to ensure it is to be authentically Catholic.
- Nurturing, sustaining and forming the young person, in the Vatican II sense of education as 'the cultivation of the human spirit' within the understanding that Jesus Christ, our Risen and Glorified Lord is the fulfilment of the human spirit.
The Chaplaincy Team
The Chaplaincy Team is made up of members of staff, pupils and clergy who work together to provide the programme of prayer, retreats and away days, liturgy, action, and reflections on the meaning of faith. We are grateful for the support of our local Parish Priests for the regular celebration of Mass, seasonal Liturgies and the Sacrament of Reconciliation in our retreat room (for smaller groups) the Assembly Hall or St Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish Church for larger groups. The Chaplaincy team is led the RE Team and the liturgical group which comprises of pupils from Year 7 to 11 and the FIA (Faith in Action) Group. We are grateful for the support of our local Parish Priests for the regular celebration of Mass, season Liturgies and the Sacrament of Reconciliation in our Chapel. the Assembly Hall or St Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish Church for larger groups.
Our most regular priest celebrants are Father Nick Kern and Father Tony Grace. We are also blessed with supportive and dedicated deacons Rev Peter Mascarenhas and Rev Eddie Miller. Local parishioners work with the RE team to help pupils learn about pray, worship, charity and community.
Faith in Action
This group has existed at St Thomas More for almost 20 years. It is a welcoming, friendly and fun group. Any pupil across all five year groups can come along and join us each Tuesday lunchtime in C13. The group is staffed by Mrs Barrow, Miss Rushforth and Mr Murray. This is a social occasion where pupils enjoy sitting with and chatting to pupils from different year groups. The next part of the meeting is a meeting involving a discussion of ideas from the pupils about the charities we should support and the ways in which we can fundraise. Pupils enjoy this input and talk through the strengths and weaknesses of the ideas. In addition to their work on social justice, the FIA are fully engaged in the Catholic mission of St Thomas More Catholic High School by looking at new ways to celebrate our faith tradition.
"Didn't you realise that you were God's temple and that the Spirit of God was living among you?"
(1 Corinthians 3:16)