St Peter’s Primary School presented with a Bronze Award from Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours Scheme

St Peter’s Primary School presented with a Bronze Award from Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours Scheme

St Peter’s Church of England Primary School in Rochdale has achieved Bronze Award status in Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours scheme in recognition of its wide-ranging steps to love their global neighbour.

From recycling, saving energy and litter picks to donating food for local people, pupils and staff at St Peter’s Primary School have been working hard to take their place as global citizens.

The accreditation scheme celebrates schools that are helping pupils learn about global poverty and the Christian responsibility to tackle it, as well as giving them the tools to play a confident part in creating a fairer world.

Headteacher, Aelred Whelan, said: “We are thrilled to be recognised for the work we have done as a whole school community to raise awareness of the extreme inequalities across our globe and perhaps more importantly, the steps we can take to address these.

“The pupils learn about global issues each week and gain an understanding of injustice in our world. Our team of Earth Stewards has worked hard to monitor our energy usage and encourages all of us to recycle and reduce single use plastics in school.

We have a link with the Tiyamike Mulungu Centre, Malawi. Children in both communities have written letters to find out about how life is lived in another part of the world. Pupils have been learning about examples of people who faced adversity and overcame this to be courageous advocates for change.

“These stories have challenged the whole school community to think about how each of us can make a difference in our local community and globally.

“We took part in Christian Aid’s scheme because it gives us a practical way of living out our school vision to be ‘The Good Soil’ that Jesus spoke about in the parable of ‘The Sower’ Mark 4:1-20. Through the Christian values that Jesus taught us ‘We learn, love and grow together’ as a community, bearing witness to - and sharing - the word of God.

“Our world is increasingly connected and our hope is for our children to grow as responsible global citizens who care about issues such as the environment and access to healthcare. The children have especially enjoyed sharing experiences with our friends, the pupils, in Africa.”

Caroline Weir, Education Coordinator at Christian Aid, said: “The Global Neighbours Scheme was launched in partnership with the Church of England’s Education Office with a vision of helping young people understand more about the inequalities in this world and helping them to become courageous advocates for those who have no voice.

“It’s wonderful to see how staff and pupils at St Peter’s have taken this to heart and are seeking to tackle injustice.”