Our Parish Community
Our school is proud to work closely with our parish community at St Kentigern’s Church, sharing in the life and mission of the Church throughout the year.
At the beginning of each academic year, staff come together to celebrate Mass and prepare for the year ahead. For the children, the school year begins with a special celebration Mass where pupils, families, and parishioners gather as one community.
Our school joins our parish community on a regular basis for Mass, strengthening the close bond between school and parish. During term time, children from each year group prepare and lead Mass in church, helping them to grow in confidence and faith. Children in our Early Years visit church to learn what it means to be part of a parish family, and throughout the year some Religious Education lessons take place in church to enhance the children’s learning.
Children preparing to make the Sacrament of First Holy Communion join the parish community at an Enrolment Mass, where they are warmly welcomed and the parish is asked to pray for them during this important time of preparation for receiving this special sacrament.
Our Parish Priest, Canon Michael Cleary, is a regular and welcome visitor to our school. As well as supporting the children in their faith journey, he serves as a school governor and shares a wonderful weekly reflection in our school newsletter, helping to guide and inspire our whole community.
Each autumn, our school community collects tea, coffee, sugar, and toiletries for our Harvest Festival Mass. These generous contributions are donated to Fallowfield Food Bank, helping us to live out our mission of service and care for others. Our Macmillan Coffee Mornings and Christmas Craft Fair are warmly attended by members of our parish community, strengthening the partnership between home, school, and parish. Our Christmas Carol Service is attended by many parishioners, and our school choir sings to members of the Irish Community Care at St Kentigern’s Social Club, sharing joy and fellowship with the wider community.
This year marks a truly extraordinary milestone — the 100th Anniversary of St Kentigern’s Parish. To celebrate this remarkable centenary, Canon Michael and our school are working together to organise a series of special events throughout the academic year. We would be delighted to hear from parishioners, past and present, who hold treasured memories of life within the parish. Your stories, reflections, and experiences are an important part of our shared history, and we would love to include them in our celebrations. Contributions can be passed to Canon Michael or directly to us at school.
Please click here to visit St Kentigern’s Church for Mass times and the parish weekly newsletter.
Our Patron Saint
St Kentigern
We call someone a saint if they were a very good person who helped other people and showed them how God wants us to live.
St. Kentigern lived hundreds of years ago and was also known as Mungo. He was the first Bishop (in charge of all the priests) in Glasgow in Scotland. He sent lots of holy men called monks to tell everyone in Scotland, then other countries (Norway and Iceland) all about God and Jesus.
When we see pictures of St. Kentigern, he is usually carrying a bell, which was given to him by the Pope, who is the leader of the Church. St. Kentigern used the bell when he said Mass for the people.
There are many other stories about St. Kentigern and miracles. One story tells us that his teacher’s favourite bird, a robin, was killed accidentally by a pupil. The pupils all blamed St. Kentigern but rather than be cross, he took the robin in his hands, blew on it and it came back to life! This robin can be found on our school crest!
On the 13th January every year, it is St. Kentigern’s feast day, which means it is a time we remember him and all the good things he did.