Transitioning from one stage of education to the next can be daunting for many children and young people. Often the fear of the unknown, getting lost in a much bigger school, having to make new friends and getting to know new teachers can raise genuine concerns. The Moving Up Celebrations for year 4 and year 6 school leavers as they transition from primary to middle or secondary school, offer the opportunity to celebrate the next step on their education journey, and to share that God will be journeying with them.
Go Team Leader and Assistant Director of Education, Tony Cook said this year’s events were a wonderful celebration, “It has been such a joy to join with nearly 3,000 children and staff from 96 Church of England schools in our diocese to celebrate and mark this important moment. We kicked off in Wells Cathedral with three wonderful celebrations over two days, before moving to Bath Abbey for two more and to Taunton Minster for the final two celebrations."
The celebrations began with children from each school processing with their banner to a resounding fanfare, before everyone launched into singing the first song, ‘God is Good’, and joined in with the actions. Throughout the Celebrations there were opportunities to chat and moments to reflect and pray. There were also reflective times when two children from each school received a candle to take back to their school to remind them that Jesus, Light of the World goes with them.
There were also times of great fun, singing ‘My Lighthouse’ with even more energetic actions, being one of them. The reading at each celebration focussed on the story of Jesus walking on the water, and was followed by a thought-provoking talk relating the story and the moving up journey the children were about to embark on. In Taunton, the story was brought to life by a local Open the Book team.
A key part of the celebrations were videos of students from years 5 and year 7, who shared their moving up experience. Each celebration ended by singing the ‘The Blessing’, a beautiful song and some moving moments.
The Go Team and members of the Education Department coordinated the Moving Up Celebrations, partnering with teams of local clergy, local leaders and worship teams in each of the three locations. Ruth Slade
Go Team Adviser for the Wells Archdeaconry, said, "These celebrations would also not be possible without our highly professional tech crew Jerry and Michael that meant everyone could hear and see everything. It was also amazing to involve secondary school students from St Marks School in Bath, Kings Academy in Wells and Pyrland School in Taunton, who eagerly welcomed the children, led the prayers and joined in with the songs. All in all, an amazing team effort!”
Draycott and Rodney Stoke CofE First School commenting afterwards on Facebook, said, “Our Year 4 pupils had the joy of taking part in a truly memorable Moving Up Celebration at Wells Cathedral. The service was both touching and thoughtful, featuring uplifting music, meaningful prayers and quiet moments for reflection on the journey ahead. Following the service, the children gathered for a picnic on the stunning cathedral green—sharing smiles, stories, and the sunshine. What a wonderful day to mark such a special milestone!”