- Visit Options
- Planning your visit - Information for Teachers
- Pilgrimage and Learning Programmes for Visiting Groups
- Developing Gifts and Skills through Volunteering
- Up and Coming Conferences, Lectures and Sermons
- Sunday School
- Confirmation
Visit Options
Curriculum Opportunities
Blackburn Cathedral is an inspirational educational resource and the Education Department aims to bring learning to life through making every visit a voyage of discovery. We believe that memorable experiences lead to memorable learning and many of the activities we offer are thematic and cross-curricular.
TRAILS
Most Cathedral Trails focus on Exploring a Christian Place of Worship but each one has a different structure and emphasis depending on the age and needs of your pupils and your curriculum requirements.Bespoke activity-based trails can also be designed and tailored to meet the particular learning / curriculum requirements of your pupils. We also cater for pupils with a range of Special Educational Needs.
The following options are currently available.
INTER-FAITH VISITS
Through its unique and innovative ExChange programme Blackburn Cathedral already leads the way in promoting community cohesion, inter-faith education, outreach and development. Work with us to tap into this amazing resource to bring Inter-Faith Studies for your students to life. Blackburn is a thriving multi-faith city and whatever the age of your pupils we can help you to maximise your time in Blackburn by planning a joint study visit to the Cathedral and to a local mosque.
Mosque visits are led by Anjum Anwar of ExChange on behalf of the Lancashire Council of Mosques. The Mosque is the Jaame Mosque (and Islamic Cultural Centre), also known as Jamia Masjid (Lambeth Street, Blackburn, BB1 1JP).This is a newly built mosque and is amazingly beautiful inside.
MAKING A DAY OF IT
We know that bringing your pupils out of school for an educational visit is expensive, particularly with the cost of coach travel. Here at Blackburn Cathedral we can provide a full day of activities for your pupils by combining one of our Trails with either one or two workshops. We can provide indoor facilities for eating packed lunches for up to 35 children or one class.
WORKSHOPS AND Activity-based sessions
Please note that workshop numbers are limited to 35 pupils or one class for each workshop.
All workshops and activity-based sessions take place within the Cathedral. All activities are interactive and in order to maximise learning they generally involve pupils working together collaboratively in small groups. Workshop numbers are therefore generally limited to a maximum of 35 pupils or one class.
At the end of most of the workshops you will be provided with a Teacher’s Resource Pack of the activity to support follow-up work / reinforcement back at school. Below are the workshopsthat are currently available. More are being planned and bespoke workshops can be designed to fit
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PRAYER STATIONS (KS2 / 3)
(1hr 20minutes)
This very practical session has been designed to take your pupils on a very personal journey of their own around the Cathedral to enable them to experience for themselves the deeper meaning of prayer and why people pray. In small groups pupils rotate around eight different Prayer Stations that have been set up around the Cathedral, each with a meaningful ‘hands-on’ activity for them to engage in that aims to give them a much more profound understanding of the purpose of Christian prayer.
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Prayer workshop (ks2 / 3)
(45 minutes)
In this workshop, through a number of different practical activities pupils
will be encouraged to: q Consider people’s continual search for meaning in terms of the acknowledgment of a power greater than themselves – a search that cuts across time, culture and religion;
q Think about the purpose of prayer and why people pray;
q Understand the five different sorts of prayer within the Christian tradition – adoration, confession, intercession, petition and thanksgiving – and when each might be used;
q Find out about the different objects that people have traditionally used to help them to focus on prayer – e.g. rosary beads, icons, candles;
q Write a prayer of Intercession for someone else, and leave it on the Children’s Intercession Board. (All Children’s Intercessions are taken to the monthly Intercession Service, along with the adult Intercessions that have been left in the Church).
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The church’s year (ks2 / 3)
(1hour)
This interactive and very practical workshop is based around the Children’s Vestment Collection. Pupils learn about the meaning of the different liturgical colours and the cycle of seasons and feasts that make up the Church’s Year. There is an opportunity for pupils to dress up in the children’s vestments (so bring your camera), find out when certain garments would be worn, learn about the meaning of Christian symbols, and then design a chasuble for their very own vicar!
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THE CHORISTER EXPERIENCE (KS2)
(30 minutes)
Did you know that the tradition of singing at Blackburn Cathedral stretches back at least 500 years?
Being a Chorister provides a unique education and opens up a world of new opportunities and experiences. The Cathedral’s Director of Music is always looking for enthusiastic new recruits (from 8 years upwards) for the Cathedral Choirs and can be available to speak to your group during your visit.
The following option can therefore be offered to school groups that are interested in finding out more
about music at Blackburn Cathedral as part of their planned educational visit. q A short presentation (PowerPoint) about the different choirs at Blackburn Cathedral
q A brief talk about how the organ works and a demonstration of how it sounds
q A tour of the Song School (including the chance to dress up as a chorister!)
In addition, the Director of Music is always happy to speak to potential choristers about the possibility of joining the choir, and can offer informal voice tests during the visit (with the relevant consent from teachers/parents) which will just take a few minutes per child.
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Seasonal workshops
A number of seasonal workshops are in preparation. The following is currently available.
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The stations of the cross for children (Ks 1 / 2)
(1hr 15minutes – depending on the age of the pupils)
These Stations of the Cross have been specially drawn and written for children. By ‘walking the walk’ and taking part in the narratives, your pupils will come to understand the events of Good Friday and why Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on the cross is still of great relevance for us today. These Stations will follow The Journey, the Cathedral’s own unique set of Stations of the Cross to enable pupils to start to make sense of these profoundly beautiful abstract paintings.
(N.B. This activity-based session is only available in the Spring Term)
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