Church Life

Church Life

Leigh St. John's C.E. Primary School is a Church of England School!

This actually means that the Diocese of Manchester and The Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Leigh has a responsibility towards the whole life of our school. This responsibility is financial as well as in the administration of the school.

The Governors of Leigh St. John's C.E. Primary School are made up of parents, staff, local authority representatives, but the majority are Church appointed. They are responsible for the recruitment of teaching, non-teaching and administrative staff.

As a Church of England School we kindly request that our families be 'in sympathy' with the Christian Faith. It is not a requirement for them to be practising Christians - although we do operate Church related criteria for admission purposes as well as to maintain the distinctive Christian ethos of the school. We also invite parents & carers to share with their children in the excitement of events within the Christian calendar, such as Harvest Festival, Mothering Sunday, Experience Easter and Christmas Nativity Plays etc. In April 2014, the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) judged our school's distinctiveness and effectiveness as a Church of England school as 'outstanding!' The inspector reported that: "Distinctive Christian values are deeply embedded in the life of the school and can be seen in the outstanding relationships that exist between all members of this superbly focused faith community so that the school, church and extended family are woven tightly and inseparably together." Through our Christian character, we strive to fully meet the social and spiritual needs of our pupils and their families. We believe that as a result of the Church and our school working so closely together, our children benefit hugely. They are encouraged to feel part of a wider family which supports them through prayer and spiritual development.

Here is a link to our 'Excellent' and most recent Church School Inspection.

Leigh St Johns CE Primary School VA Diocese Report.pdf

Father Kevin

Reverend Kevin Crinks, known to our children as 'Father Kevin' is the 'Parish Priest in Charge' at St. Mary the Virgin Church, Leigh. Each Tuesday Kevin leads our children and staff in worship when he delivers his weekly Assembly. He is well known by all the pupils (on his pup Brian!) who very much enjoy listening to his thought-provoking, often amusing stories, as well as learning aspects of the Christian faith. In addition to leading our pupils in worship at school, Father Kevin also invites our children and their families to join him and the clergy in special services and celebrations at St. Mary's Church. In fact, our singing contributions at such events have become quite infamous!