Religious Education

St Catherine’s School Celebrates Completion of Building Programme

The five-year multi-million pound programme to develop and renovate St Catherine’s School, Cross Deep, Twickenham concluded on Monday, 30th April, with a poignant blessing ceremony of the Lawn Building by Bishop John Sherrington, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Westminster.

Last year St Catherine’s opened a new Sixth Form centre, along with a new library, fitness suite and drama studio. On Monday Bishop Sherrington blessed the redesigned ‘Lawn Building’ which now houses a light and airy kitchen and dining room that provides fresh, healthy lunches cooked on the premises for all the girls and staff. On the first floor are new classrooms equipped with the latest IT technology.

As the Auxiliary Bishop in Westminster with special responsibility for education, Bishop Sherrington, said:  “I was delighted to celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving and opening the Lawn building, in St Catherine’s school, Twickenham.  The new classrooms for Religious Education and the new dining room are a wonderful edition to the school; I thank Sister Paula and her staff for their warm hospitality and the girls, especially the choir, for an inspiring Mass in honour of St Catherine’s.”

“This was an auspicious day for St. Catherine’s.  We are delighted with our amazing new facilities and it was a joy to celebrate it as a school community together with so many people who have helped to make it all possible.  It was a privilege to have Bishop John Sherrington here, together with priests from the surrounding parishes.  The blessing and Mass were a perfect way to mark such a momentous day for the school.”  Sister Paula Thomas, Headmistress.

Ash Wednesday Mass

The school marked the beginning of Lent with Mass on Ash Wednesday (22nd February) celebrated by Fr Ulick.  We were delighted to welcome many parishioners from St James' as well as parents and some pupils from Radnor House School to this service where ashes were blessed and distributed.  A special word of thanks to all the readers as well as our cantor, who were all excellent.

Miss M Ryan

Senior Carol Service

The Senior Carol Service was held on the 15th December and was a joyous occasion.  The readings were carefully selected to illuminate the true meaning of Christmas, combining words from the Bible with poetry and verse from writers through the ages.

 Carol Concert 2011

The girls’ talents, both as readers and as musicians, contributed to the variously reflective and celebratory atmosphere.  We were delighted to receive a new Nativity set from FOSC which formed the centrepiece for the service.  It was a wonderful way to begin the Christmas holidays.’
 
Mrs K Casper - Head of Music
and
Ms M Ryan – Head of Religious Studies

 

Religious Education is a subject at the heart of every Catholic School. The study of religious belief and practice enables students to develop an understanding of people and the codes of behaviour they follow. The emphasis is not st on learning about religion, but also the learning from religion.

"The outcome of religious education is religiously literate young people who. . . think spiritually, ethically and theologically and who are aware of the demands of religious commitment in every day life."

The Curriculum Directory for Catholic Schools (1996)

RE at St Catherine’s is taught by a specialist staff, using a range of methods and resources designed to engage the interests of students and stimulate discussion.

All students study RE from Year 7 to GCSE in three 45 minute lessons per week.

In KS3 students are introduced to the foundations of the Christian Faith in Year 7 and 8, learning about Christian belief, the structure of the Church, the Bible, and sacraments. Students will also learn about Judaism in Year 8.

In Year 9 they move on to consider what it means to be a religious person, and will explore beliefs and practices of Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism as well as exploring how religions deal with ethical issues.

All students will take RE to GCSE. At St Catherine’s we follow the Edexcel course looking at Roman Catholic Christianity in Year 10 and Religion and Life from the Roman Catholic perspective in Year 11. The course is modular, and GCSE students will take an exam both at the end of Year 10 and Year 11.

In the Sixth Form, all students will follow a course in General Religious Education for one lesson per week exploring a range of topics including religion in the local area, spirituality, human rights and social justice.

Sixth Formers also have the option of choosing to study Philosophy and Ethics at A level. We follow the OCR course at AS and A2.

M. Ryan
Head of RE/Chaplain

Year 5 - Westminster Cathedral's Catholic Children's Society's Carol Service

On 6 December, Year 5 travelled to Westminster Cathedral to join students from other Catholic Primary schools across the Diocese for the Catholic Children’s Society’s Carol Service.

Westminster_1The service was led by Bishop Alan Hopes and involved children in the re-telling of the Christmas story.  Year 5 helped to lead the singing and had a good view of everything that was going on from their places at the front of the Cathedral.  

The girls thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and I leave the last comments to them:

 

“Miss Ryan introduced the first carol and it sounded wonderful in the vast space…” (EllenTullett)

Westminster 2“The Carols were lovely and everybody was joining in singing their praise to God.” (Georgia Small)

“…the best part of the  nativity was when a real donkey came up the aisle.”  (Hope Warwick-Wilson)

“I especially loved the donkey, I thought he was very cute and well - behaved” (Lara Wright)

“I felt very lucky and privileged to be part of such an important event.” (Athena Kent-Egan)

Miss M Ryan - Head of RE

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