The Trust held its annual Beginning of the Year Mass at Aylesford Priory on Tuesday 24 September 2024; it was, as always, a wonderful, uplifting morning attended by 29 schools from across the Trust and the county.
 

Bishop Paul Hendricks, the Auxiliary Bishop for the Kent Area of Southwark, celebrated Mass for us. This year, Mass included the Rite of Acceptance for our RCIA candidates (find out more about the RCIA programme here), together with the commissioning of the Trust's new Headteachers and also of our new pupils.

Pupils and colleagues from across our family of Catholic schools took part by reading, signing, and leading prayers, and all the wonderful music and singing was brilliantly provided by a choir of pupils from Our Lady of Hartley Primary, St John's Primary, and More Park Primary; these schools have been taking part in the Diocesan Choral Programme and our grateful thanks go to Lucy Faulkner and Jonathan Schranz, Director of Music for the Archdiocese of Southwark, the time and care they have put into teaching and rehearsing our schools enabled our pupils to sing with great skill and confidence on the day.  

Our schools also shared some wonderful artwork they created around the theme of Promoting Peace, pictured in our slideshow below is a wonderful painting, 'Doves of Peace', by Sandra Pawlikowska, a very talented Year 13 artist from St John's Catholic Comprehensive School in Gravesend.

Our grateful thanks also go to the Priory for their generous hospitality, to everyone who supported and contributed to a wonderful day, and to Bishop Paul, and to all the clergy, for leading us today and all days; for their guidance and for their prayers.