Religious Life of the School
The Christian ethos of the school is deeply embedded and impacts significantly upon pupils’ lives and their
achievements.
Collective worship is at the heart of the school and this continually serves to strengthen its Christian
character.
Pupils develop a strong sense of spirituality through opportunities for both reflection and prayer as they
progress through the school.
The school’s Christian care and support for each individual ensures pupils are keen to learn and behave very
well. It also impacts positively on the strong quality of the relationships evident at every level across the
school community.
Religious education (RE) and collective worship make valuable and sustained contributions to the Christian
ethos of the school and to the good spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of pupils.
Worship is a cherished and inspiring part of school life and has a significant impact upon pupils’ spiritual and moral
growth and how they develop as individuals.
These statements have been taken from our last ‘Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools’ (SIAMS) report from 2018 which can be found here: SIAMS Report 2018
Our daily life incorporates the following Christian values:
- Friendship
- Forgiveness
- Wisdom
- Peace
- Hope
- Compassion
- Trust
- Thankfulness
St Aidan’s is a Church of England Aided School. This means it is owned by the Church but has financial ‘aid’ from the state. As a Church of England School there is a special relationship between church and school. At St Aidan’s there is mutual support between the diocese of Newcastle and Durham, the Parish of Bensham, with its parish Church, St Chad’s, Bensham, St Aidan’s Church in the Teams and the school. The clergy from the area play an active part in school life on a daily basis e.g. conducting services, governing body, running school clubs etc.
A Church School has a distinctive ethos because we aim to emphasise Christian values. We want the school always to reflect God’s love for each individual through its atmosphere of welcome, care, reassurance and service. We hope by doing so to show the relevance of Christianity to the children’s lives.
Harvest Festival
Reverend Meg opened our Harvest Festival by explaining to the children that we would be sending our food donations to the Gateshead Food Bank. The Bible reading was about people giving money to those in need. Jesus said it was not about those who gave the most money,...
read moreYear 4 chapel service
Year 4 visited the chapel today where they discussed Jesus being the greatest. Reverend Meg compared this to the great boxer Mohammed Ali who declared he was the greatest, but was he good at football or swimming? Aren’t the greatest people those who help others? Jesus...
read moreEnd of year Eucharist
Year 6 played a leading role in the end of the school year’s eucharist supporting Reverend Meg with prayers, readings and news of their recent Archbishop of York Youth Trust Award. During the eucharist Reverend Meg discussed new beginnings with the children and how at...
read moreHoly Island
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read moreYear 3 visit the Sikh Gurdwara
As part of our 'Rules for Living' topic in RE we have started learning about Sikhism. We had a wonderful afternoon at the Gurdwara, the Sikh temple, in Newcastle to find out more about Sikhism. When we entered we were...
read moreYear 6 Leaving Service at Durham Cathedral
Year 6 were invited to Durham Cathedral to take part in a Leaver's Service along with schools from the local area. Once inside the magnificent building, the children took part in a range of activities based around reflecting on their time at St Aidan's, discussing any...
read moreYear 6 Chapel Service
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read moreStations of the Cross
As part of the run up to Easter, children in each year group created art work on each of the Stations of the Cross. On Friday, Year 6 spent time in the hall discussing and reflecting each station. It was a humbling moment and the children were excellent at discussing...
read moreLeading Lights Assembly
To welcome everyone back after half term, Leading Lights introduced our assembly. Around our candle, the children performed poems about people who help us. They discussed our school values and mission statement, before closing the assembly with prayers. This week in...
read moreAchievement Assembly
As part of this morning’s achievement assembly we were blessed with a performance from our resident choir ‘Only Girls Allowed.’ The hall was packed with parents, children and loved ones. After a tour of the local community and Metrocentre, amongst other venues, ‘Only...
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