The school aims to serve its community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice.  It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers to all of its pupils.

Collective worship takes place every day in school.  Each week there is a theme which aims to link our values with bible stories and other aspects of the Christian tradition and Church of England calendar. We look to many parts of the Gospel and previously have had a particular focus on Luke and his teachings, as well as Jesus' Parables. We chose Luke, in particular, as he was one of the four evangelists alongside Matthew, Mark and John, who shared the good news of Christianity. It is believed Luke may be responsible for over a quarter of the New Testament; giving us a wide and varied source. He was also a keen advocate for including all which we feel sits very well with our School Vision.

MONDAYS: Whole School Assembly led by Father David Sheppard. On Mondays, we ‘Pass the Peace’ at the beginning of every assembly. We follow the pattern of the festivals and seasons of the Christian Year. At the heart of each assembly is a story, a ‘Ponder Point’ to reflect on and prayers, led by the children, from two classes.

TUESDAYS: Collective worship in Classes, led by the Class Teacher and sometimes by the children. We are currently focusing on the Big Questions, such as; 'Is there Power in Prayer?' and 'What gives you hope?'

WEDNESDAYS: Collective worship in Key Stages, led by a visiting minister from one of the local churches or by Actios, a Christian Charity with a mission to bring the Gospel to school children.

THURSDAYS: Choral Worship led by Mrs Walker – singing is an important part of collective worship, and this is a chance to learn new songs, and revisit familiar ones, to reflect together on the way that we praise God in worship, and to understand better the words we are singing. 

FRIDAYS: A celebration of what has been achieved in school with each class teacher sharing what the class have really enjoyed from the week alongside other celebrations such as an announcement of the House Point totals for the week, the winners of the Attendance Bear and a chance to celebrate and share the acts those children who have been awarded a Buckden Value.  The Friday collective worship always ends with the School Prayer led by one of our house captains, as a way of sending the children and adults out into the world to live out the values that they live by in school as part of the ACT Academy Trust: 

Dear God

Be with us today and every day, helping us to be good examples of your love (agape), by showing kindness to all. Fill our hearts with joy and our minds with learning, so we can flourish.

Give us the courage to make a positive difference in our homes, our school and the wider community.

Let us be thankful for the amazing world you have given us and help us to protect it for future generations.

Amen

We go to St Mary’s Church at least twice a term for collective worship. We also enjoy our visits from GenR8 and Open the Book to enrich the children's collective worship experience. 

We have a Collective Worship Team, with 2 members from each class in the school.

 

Parents have the right to withdraw their child from the daily act of collective worship if they wish. Please email the headteacher mheather@bpa.act-academytrust.org if you would like to take up this right.

Parish - School Covenant

As part of our commitment as a Church School to St Mary's Church, Father David and  the foundation committee, which includes members of the school and the parish worked together to put together a Parish-School Covernant. We have celebrated this both at St Mary's and at school and are very proud to have a signed copy displayed in St Mary's and Buckden CE Primary Academy to show our commitment to the church.