Every year we have the privilege of welcoming Year 6 pupils from primary schools across the Diocese to Durham Cathedral to mark their transition from primary to secondary education.
Last week over three days we were joined by over 2,000 pupils from 58 schools from around the Diocese.
The schools spent the first hour of the session taking part in a range of prayer stations located around the Cathedral; moving from one activity to the next every ten minutes until they had completed all five. These activities are only possible thanks to Year 10 pupils from our CofE secondary schools who come and help run them.
All of the schools then joined back together for a 30 minute service, which started with a procession of school banners from the cloisters and down through the nave. Each session had a different speaker with Duncan Podbury, Andy Harris, Dean of Durham Philip Plyming and Archdeacon Rick Simpson with his curate Revd Mary the willing volunteers this year.
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n between prayers and readings, the children enjoyed worshipping together through song. A huge thank you to choirs from St. Johns’ CofE Primary School in Shildon, Ward Jackson CofE Primary School in Hartlepool and St. Oswald’s CofE Primary School in Durham who helped lead the singing.
Thank you to all who help run these events. They would not happen without the support of Diocesan staff, Cathedral staff, volunteers, teachers or our tech team. Feedback from schools has been really positive with many saying how much the pupils enjoyed the services, having the time to reflect on their time at primary school and prepare for their transition to secondary education.
More photos from the event can be found on our Facebook page.