St Leonard's

Listen, child of God, to the guidance of your teacher… 

My words are addressed to you especially, whoever you may be, whatever your circumstances, who turn from your pursuit of your own self will and ask to enlist under Christ, who is Lord of all, by following him through taking to yourself that strong and blessed armour of obedience which he made his own on coming into our world.

From the Prologue to the Rule of St Benedict. 

Here at St. Leonard’s, all pupils are offered the opportunity to go on retreat. Pupils in Year 7 and Year 10 have a three day retreat at the Youth Village in Consett and Year 9 and Year 10 pupils attend the YMT Summer Festival. Pupils in Year 8 have the opportunity to visit other sacred spaces such as Ushaw College. Where appropriate pupils visit local churches to help deepen their understanding of prayer and liturgy formation e.g. Year 7 ahead of their Mass of welcome. Our Year 11 pupils gather in large numbers to attend the CYMFED Flame conference and as this is a bi-annual event, the opportunity is also offered when in Sixth Form. Our Sixth Form students visit Ampleforth for Retreat with Fr Bede, enjoying two days of prayer workshops, immersing themselves in the Benedictine monks way of life. As new opportunities for retreat and workshops are offered, we will continue to embed these into every pupil’s journey of faith here at St Leonard’s. These special events offer all pupils the opportunity to develop spiritually and deepen their faith, as well as strengthening their sense of community and belonging. 

Faith in action

The Faith in Action Award encourages young people through recognising, rewarding and celebrating their active faith lived out through service and reflection. The Award helps them connect their life and faith in a tangible manner. In journeying through the Award, young people should experience a deepening of their relationship with God and find themselves exploring that relationship. It is hoped that through their relationship and action, others will see God’s love through them.  

John Paul II award

The Pope John Paul II Award is a faith achievement award for young people between the age of 16 and 18. It is non-competitive, inclusive, flexible and voluntary. The Award enables participants to take an active part in the life of their Church – in the life of their community and society. It enables young people to become more aware of the teaching and role of the Catholic Church in the world and to engage at a deep level with Christ. 

We currently run this award with our Sixth Form pupils as they take an active role within our school community and wider Parish life. All our Sixth Form Students use our ‘Give an Hour Back’ programme to help explore new ways to volunteer in helping those in younger years at school. These students also help to lead in liturgies and whole school fundraising events, modelling our school virtues and faith in action.  

CAFOD club

Our CAFOD club is one of the most popular enrichment clubs throughout our school week. Over 40 pupils gather to plan events to spread awareness and raise money for CAFOD and the campaigns they run throughout the academic year. Pupils from a range of year groups attend. From our strong connections to our local CAFOD representative, we have been able to raise thousands of pounds for CAFOD throughout the school year and our CAFOD events and Fast Days continue to be widely spoken about due to their success. 

Green Committee

Our Green Committee is led by our Sixth Form students and is one of many pupil leadership areas of school. Pupils meet weekly to look at how we can implement strategies to protect our common home. Most recently we carried out our own ‘Eco Day’ during Lent, held litter picking lunchtimes and we look forward to developing the sustainability of our new school building come 2026.

Parish Links & Confirmations

Every half term, pupils across a range of year groups plan and prepare a ‘take over’ Sunday service. Pupils lead the readings, select the hymns, write and read the bidding prayers, welcome parishioners on the door, assist in children’s liturgy and even put on bake sales after Mass. Strong links with our local Parish Priests and committee members allow our pupils to never miss out on opportunities to put their faith into action outside of our school building. This in turn allows our confirmation programme to flourish. If you or your child is interested in receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Fundrasing

We are proud to share that St Leonard’s pupils and staff raise thousands of pounds for charity each year. Pupils enjoy selecting charities close to their heart and preparing creative ways to raise awareness and donations. During key seasons such as Advent and Lent, all pupils understand that it is not just about giving money, but rather about being generous in other ways. For example through our soup kitchen, food bank donations and clothing collections. During the academic year 2024-2025 over £6000 has been raised for over 30 different charities.