Nores news and events

Have look at STCATs final half term newsletter for the year and their end of year video! If you have school news you’d like us to feature, drop us a line.

Half Termly Newsletter_July_2026_FINAL LR   

Sophie Byrne, Primary RE Lead at St Michael’s Catholic School, High Wycombe, was lucky enough to take part in the ‘Called to Teach’ pilgrimage to Rome, organised in England and Wales by the Catholic Education Service (CES) in July 2025. Here is her testimony.

My pilgrimage started on Friday with my arrival in Rome. Soon after, once all pilgrims had arrived, we attended the opening mass at the
Baptistery of St. John Lateran Basilica. The evening was spent getting to know the other 45 pilgrims.

The Irish College – our accommodation in the Irish College was truly remarkable, highlighted by an audience with Pope Leo XIV.

His words, “God has created each one of you with a purpose and a mission in this life. Use this opportunity for listening, for prayer, so
that you may hear more clearly God’s voice calling you deep within your hearts,” and “I hope that, each day, you will nurture your relationship with Christ, who gives us the pattern of all authentic teaching, so that, in turn, you may guide and encourage those entrusted to your care to follow Christ in their own lives,” set a profoundly reflective and inspiring tone for the entire week.

Later, I had the profound experience of entering my first Holy Door at St. Mary Major, followed by Mass at St. Mary Major. I also had the chance to visit Pope Francis’ tomb. The day wrapped up with a coach tour of Rome, giving me a wonderful overview of the Eternal City.

On Sunday, we attended Mass at the Irish College, a beautiful start to a more tranquil day. Lunch was enjoyed at the picturesque Palazzola villa, followed by a fascinating tour of the Castelgandolfo Villa and gardens, the Pope’s summer residence, offering a glimpse into papal life outside the Vatican.

Monday took us outside Rome to places of profound historical significance. I visited the World War II Commonwealth cemetery in Cassino, a somber reminder of past conflicts. This was followed by Mass at Monte Cassino and a visit to the tombs of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica. The day concluded with an incredible archaeological site tour of Pompeii, where we walked through the preserved remains of an ancient Roman city.

Tuesday was dedicated to the heart of Catholicism. We attended Mass at St. Peter’s tomb before exploring St. Peter’s Basilica and
its Holy Door. This was followed by a comprehensive Vatican garden and museum tour, immersing ourselves in the art and history of
the Holy See. The day ended with a short walking tour of Rome, uncovering more of the city’s hidden gems.

Wednesday brought more spiritual and historical exploration. We visited the Holy Door of St. John Lateran and ascended the revered
Santa Scala – Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs. Later, we descended into the ancient Catacombs of St. Sebastian..
The afternoon included Mass at St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, another Holy Door experience, and a visit to St. Paul’s Tomb. The day concluded with an insightful Q&A panel with dicastery members, offering a deeper understanding of the Church’s work.

Thursday was a special day trip to Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis. We attended Mass at the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a deeply moving experience, and explored the magnificent Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi. Blessed Carlo Acutis’ heart

My pilgrimage concluded on Friday with a closing mass in San Clemente, a fitting end to a week of spiritual enrichment.

Beyond the structured itinerary, this pilgrimage was invaluable for the relationships I formed with teachers from across England, Scotland, and Ireland. Sharing this profound experience together not only deepened my understanding of the Catholic Church and Italian history, but it truly re-awakened my spirit and served as a powerful testament to faith building. Each step of the journey, from the ancient catacombs to the awe-inspiring basilicas, felt like a brick laid in the foundation of a renewed spiritual connection.

St Thomas Becket Catholoic School, Northampton are thrilled and proud to report their best A level results in 18 years!

“All of our students continuing their education have secured their places at their chosen Universities including Oxford, Bristol, Durham, Nottingham, Warwick, Cardiff, Loughborough and Birmingham. 33% of students will be attending a Russell Group University.

There have been significant improvements and successes across all subjects in the Sixth Form, whereby 37% of A-Level grades achieved were A*-A and 68% of BTEC grades achieved were Distinction and Distinction*. In Art, Further Maths, Geography, and Italian all grades achieved were 100% A* – C. The average grade across all subjects has risen again this year to a B.”

Read the Northampton Chronicle article here

On 3 April 2025 twenty-one students from St Paul’s Catholic School in Milton Keynes took part in the annual CAFOD Big Lent Walk.  Ably accompanied by Mrs Jordan, Mr Adeyemi and Mr Beckett the students walked four times around the school playing field a total of just over 3km and raised a total of £85.84 for CAFOD.

For more information about CAFODs Big Lent Walk and other charitable ideas have a look at their website

St Thomas More Secondary School in Bedford has been awarded the CAFOD Livesimply award, the first secondary school in our diocese to receive the award.

The CAFOD LiveSimply Award is a recognition given to Catholic communities, schools, and organisations in the UK that demonstrate a commitment to living more sustainably, simply, and in solidarity with people in poverty. Inspired by Catholic social teaching and Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’, the award encourages groups to take practical steps to care for the environment, reduce their carbon footprint, and promote social justice. Participants undertake various initiatives, such as reducing waste, supporting ethical trade, conserving energy, and engaging in acts of charity. The award celebrates communities that strive to live out their faith in action, embodying values of stewardship, compassion, and simplicity.

Peter Haddon, CAFOD representative said of the school:

The students were impressively articulate about activities and also about purpose and reason behind these activities. A very key activity for this school was the Cultural Diversity Celebration. The year 10 students spoke eloquently and with much delight about how it brought everyone together and did indeed celebrate this great characteristic of St Thomas More School – with 52 different nations currently identified as represented by the student body, this initiative both contributes to the sense of dignity of one and all, and also does this in a way that notes the blessings of such diversity.

School chaplain, John Bonner highlighted how wonderful it is to see a continuous stream of activities building and building – so the commitment across the school to working with Bedford Foodbank is growing and growing. Similarly the work of creating food for the homeless has been a great source of dedicated activity – added to by the appreciation of the customers for the baking of cakes.

Peter went on to say that

St Thomas More is a super example of the principles and philosophy of Live Simply put into practice and thoroughly deserving of the Award.

A great new facility at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Primary and Nursery School is praised by star naturalist Steve Backshall.  For more details have a look at the Slough Express story here.

Ofsted are inspecting many schools at the moment, so don’t forget to familiarise yourself with the Framework document.

The education inspection framework (‘the framework’) sets out how Ofsted inspects maintained schools, academies, non-association independent schools, further education and skills provision and registered early years settings in England.

The framework has been devised by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector for use from September 2019. It sets out the principles that apply to inspection, and the main judgements that inspectors make when carrying out inspections of maintained schools, academies, non-association independent schools, further education and skills providers and registered early years settings in England.

You can find the Framework document here.

The Catholic Education Service is pleased  to present this new RSHE E-Learning Course. This online training programme for teachers has been developed by the Catholic Education Service with Ten Ten Resources and in conjunction with the Department for Education.

The training and the model curriculum are deeply rooted in, and faithful to, the Catholic Church’s vision of the human person as created in the image and likeness of God and the truth and meaning of human sexuality. The content of the curriculum is based upon the God-given dignity of each and every pupil and through an understanding of the Virtues teaches our children and young people to make healthy choices that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

Click the link for all the details.Ten Ten E-Learning Platform – Relationships, Sex and Health Education (catholiceducation.org.uk)

The draft school admission appeals code 2022 (which has been corrected), remains provisional until it completes the Parliamentary process. It is expected to come into force from 1 October 2022, subject to Parliamentary approval. The DfE will also update the non-statutory advice on school admission appeals at this time.

The current school admission appeals code (2012) remains in force until the draft appeals code 2022 is approved. Admission appeals lodged on or before 30 September 2022 must follow the current appeals code 2012.

Details of the Appeals Code can be found here: School admission appeals code – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Vatican have recently published a more in-depth and up-to-date reflection and guidelines on the value of the Catholic identity of educational institutions in the Church, so as to provide a set of criteria responding to the challenges of our times, in continuity with the criteria that always apply. Moreover, as Pope Francis said, “We cannot create a culture of dialogue if we do not have identity”.

The Congregation for Catholic Education hopes that this contribution will be welcomed as an opportunity to reflect and deepen our understanding of this important topic which concerns the very essence and raison d’être of the Church’s historical presence in the field of education and schooling, in obedience to her mission to proclaim the Gospel by teaching all nations (cf. Mt 28:19-20).

Click on the link to read the full text:  Catholic Schools Vatican March 2022