Prayer Space Week

At the end of last term, we had our annual Prayer Space. This is where we transform the Chaplaincy Space into an interactive experience of peace, calm, reflection, and prayer that is open to all throughout the week. All members of the school were invited to come and visit the Prayer Space during their social times in the day, but every Year 8 & 9 class came in to use the space, and have a full lesson where they got to experience a time of quiet and reflection.

Despite the name of "Prayer Space", the time and space are both very accessible to those of any faith, or none, and the students are encouraged to engage with it in whatever manner feels most appropriate for them. At the end of each session, we ask for each student for a bit of written (and anonymous feedback), and overwhelmingly that feedback highlighted how much they had engaged and appreciated the time, how deeply they felt a sense of calm and peace that they usually don't, and a desire to have more opportunities like this.

Each year we have 8 different activities, each with a different aspect of life for students to reflect on, and this year, those themes included: Stillness, Sorry, Worries, Letting your light shine, Identity, Thank you, Hopes & dreams, and Peace. One thing that always strikes me is the variety in which activities resonate with the different classes. Of the 8 activities that we had, each one was highlighted as the most significant for some students and classes, and each one was identified as the least engaging by other students and classes- a real testament to the power of the space and how each person who comes in needs something slightly different from it.

Matt Bodinham (Chaplaincy Team Leader)