Holy Trinity as a Church School

Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School is a Voluntary Controlled (VC) church school that’s part of the Guildford Diocese.

What does it mean to be a church school?

The Church of England has set out a vision (see link) for its schools to provide an education that “is deeply Christian, with Jesus' promise of 'life in all its fullness' at its heart. In line with the Church of England's role as the established Church, our vision is for the common good of the whole community.”

For us at Holy Trinity, we seek to provide an education for our children that is in line with the aims (see link) of the Church of England:

- Educating for wisdom, knowledge and skills

- Educating for hope and aspiration

- Educating for community and living well together

- Educating for dignity and respect

What does this mean for your child day to day? 

We have a set of 9 values (click here to see our school's values) that come from the bible and underpin everything that we do in school. Your child will be invited to take part in a daily prayer time in class and they will also be invited to take part in a daily act of worship, sometimes known as Assembly time. Within the act of worship, there is opportunity to listen to stories from the bible, reflect on what has been heard, and to sing and pray. We welcome all children to take part in this daily act of worship, but there is no expectation to actively join in if they don’t feel comfortable. It is not our role to convert children to Christianity, however, we believe the values give our children a strong foundation on which to develop their own spiritual and moral journeys. 

What does Christian Distinctiveness look like at Holy Trinity? 

Collective Worship 

As a Church of England school, our Worship follows the Christian calendar and Bible teachings, but also includes themes which address both national and global issues. Each term, the whole school follows a carefully planned creative programme for Worship, using material from Guildford Diocese and elsewhere that links to our school vision and values.  

On a Monday, we have a whole school visit from our local Open the Book team who operate out of our Parish Church. 

Tuesday worship is led by our Head of School and follows material provided by the Diocese, giving more of a wider world focus. 

Wednesday is class assembly for EYFS and KS1 and Worship in Song for KS2. 

Thursday is Worship in Song for EYFS and KS1 and class worship for KS2. 

Friday is our Gold Leaves celebration assembly led by our Executive Head which celebrates the children’s achievements that tie in with our school values, whilst also exploring national and global issues as appropriate. 

We celebrate Pause days throughout the year, with support from the local church. The Engage Schools Assembly team visit us each term and we also have visitors from various charities come to share in our worship. Each year group has a Time to Celebrate Worship throughout the year that is planned by the children, and shows how their learning ties in with our Christian vision and values. 

Care has been taken to ensure that, in line with the Church of England Statement for Education, worship is inclusive, respectful and supportive to those in the Christian faith, of other faiths and those of no faith. 

WHAM Team 

Each class has a representative that sits on our WHAM team. WHAM stands for ‘We Have a Mission’. This group of children meet regularly to discuss and plan collective worships and prayer spaces as well as considering ways to ensure our whole school community feels part of and benefits from worship time. We have been part of a Peace project in partnership with Guildford Cathedral, where we made a Prince of Peace interactive sculpture (see below) that was displayed in the Cathedral alongside other Church schools pieces. 

Prayer group 

We have a parent prayer group who meet together once a month to pray for the life of the school. If you would like more information on this, please contact the school office. We also have a staff prayer group that meet weekly to pray for the school community as a whole. All are welcome at either of these groups, whether to participate, or just to be still and reflect.