St James’ Primary is a successful school that is at the heart of its community. There are strong links with the parish church and these enhance the spiritual and moral development of the people we serve.
At St James’ we are committed to providing a high standard of Catholic education for all pupils in a friendly and welcoming environment. We recognize that every child has their own, unique set of gifts and talents and ensure that there are opportunities for these to be developed. The school teaches children that we share values common to all faiths, namely love and respect for one another, Peace, Justice, and belief in Equality. We teach our children about other faiths, to foster respect and tolerance of those with other faiths and beliefs.
We provide an exciting curriculum that prepares children to become active members of society. We aim to inspire all of our pupils, to rise to the challenges that will enable them to develop the skills and personal qualities they need, to embrace the future with confidence.
St James’ has consistently high standards of achievement. This high achievement is a result of outstanding teaching and learning, hard work from the pupils, and support from parents.
’St. James’ encourages an inquiring mind and has high expectations for the children (parent)
‘Children are happy in an environment that is well balanced and focused upon learning and where they learn to become good people. (parent)
‘St. James produces well-mannered, confident, and caring children. (parent)
Children thrive where there are excellent relationships between Home, School and Parish. These relationships are clearly in place and working for the benefit of our children. St James’ fosters productive partnerships that are built upon mutual respect.
At St. James’ RC Primary School, the daily act of collective worship is viewed as an integral and important part of our everyday school life. Collective worship provides us with an opportunity to further develop our relationship with God. It is a time where we come together to share our love of God giving Him glory, honor, thanks, and praise.
We believe that collective worship in our school community gives us the opportunity:
- To contemplate the mystery of God
- To unite our worshipping Eucharistic community
- To reflect on spiritual and moral issues
- To grow in liturgical understanding and development
- To reflect the Catholic nature of the school
- To reinforce prayers which are part of the Catholic tradition
- To provide opportunities to celebrate the liturgical season and special feasts
- through liturgy, ritual, symbol, and prayer.
- For the school community to celebrate, to give thanks, to wonder, to acknowledge success, applaud achievement, and to respond to loss and difficulties.
- To develop the necessary skills of reverence, contemplation, reflection, interpretation, empathy, and meditation.
All of these opportunities will enable our relationship with God to be deepened and enhanced.
A variety of opportunities for worship are provided, including individual prayer, group prayer in both formal and informal styles and settings, and the celebration of the Eucharist which is the center of worship for the Catholic community. Those organizing prayer, liturgies, and assemblies encourage our children to contribute their skills, and gifts to the preparation or worship and to participate as actively as possible.
Prayers encourage us to remember that God is at the center of our lives, at the beginning and end of our days, and in the decisions we make. Therefore, the pupils and staff of St James say prayers at the beginning of the day, before and after lunchtime, and at the end of the day. Prayers are also shared at staff meetings, governors meetings, and parent gatherings.
The whole school assemblies take place on Monday and Friday. The Monday assembly is led by the Headteacher and is centered around the Gospel readings. The Friday assembly is our award assembly which offers us an opportunity to acknowledge and reward children for their achievements both in and out of school. It plays an important part in promoting the ethos of the school which is that all children are valued and all achievements are recognized.
KS1 and KS2 assemblies take place at different times of the day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. KS2 Wednesday assembly focuses on the “Wednesday Word.”
Father David, our parish priest, celebrates class Masses in the school with the children, staff, and parents every half term. The Parish community of St James the Great is also invited to attend. The pupils attend whole school Masses at our parish church, every half term, and on Holy Days of Obligation if they occur in school time. St James’ pupils contribute to the order of the Mass.
- Actively demonstrate the Christian values that are shared by all
- Maintain a safe, welcoming environment that fosters independence and resilience
- Promote positive relationships and respect for self and others regardless of faith or culture
- Inspire children to be excited by learning
- Enable everyone to reach their full potential and embrace the future
