Chaplaincy is an important part of the life at Our Lady's Catholic College. The aim of the Chaplaincy can be summed up in four words, to foster;

Belonging, Meaning, Celebrating and Learning.

• Belonging: Students and staff are all valued members in our caring catholic community. We look after each other as families do.The Chaplaincy is open to all and accepts every young person just as they are. We have drop in sessions before the school day, at breaks and at lunchtimes where anyone can come along and feel at home with opportunities for a chat and a drink. The Chaplaincy team are always on hand should a student need a little bit of extra support or encouragement.  

• Meaning: The Chaplaincy values space for individuals to find meaning in their lives. To foster our relationship with God we offer many opportunities to discover a personal faith in Jesus. Open prayer time in the Chapel is available for pupils to have space to reflect and pray. Each form registration will begin with a morning prayer based on a Theme of the Week and will also be expanded on weekly in an act of collective worship as part of the year group assemblies. We commit ourselves as staff to begin each briefing meeting with collective prayer, The Eucharist is central to our life at Our Lady's with Fr. John-Paul celebrating weekly lunchtime Masses. Special services and liturgies are celebrated throughout the year to mark liturgical celebrations as well as significant times within the school year such as Christmas, Easter, the end of school year and several feast days.

• Celebrating: Here at the Chaplaincy, we want to celebrate life together. This takes place in many different ways such as games fun and laughter, celebrating group and individual achievements, encouragement. support and social events.

• Learning:  We value learning in all forms and encourage learning about faith, ourselves and each other. We offer all sorts of learning experiences through Days with a Difference, retreat opportunities and Fairtrade Fortnight to name a few. We also have good links with Cafod, Life and Cancer Research. We love to welcome guests to share their expertise and passions with our pupils.

Please see below for a copy of The Olive Branch Winter Newsletter. This is a local charity that we as a school like to support to put our faith into action.