"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
Matthew 18:20

At St Alban's, we believe that faith grows best when it is shared. Through our Faith Friends programme, older and younger children are paired together so they can pray, learn and celebrate their faith side by side.

Our Faith Friends partnerships are:

• Year 1 with Year 4
• Year 2 with Year 5
• Year 3 with Year 6

Our older pupils take on the special role of being a Faith Friend to a younger child. Together, they:

• Pray together, sharing prayers, reflecting quietly and helping younger children learn the prayers of the Church
• Celebrate Mass and liturgies together, with older children supporting their Faith Friend to understand and join in with the responses and readings
• Share stories from the Bible, talking about what Jesus teaches us and how we can follow him in our everyday lives
• Take part in special times of the Church's year together, such as Advent, Lent and feast days

Our Year 3 and Year 6 partnership is especially meaningful, as both year groups are preparing to receive Sacraments. As our Year 3 children prepare for their First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion, and our Year 6 children prepare for Confirmation, they support and pray for one another on their journeys of faith.

Faith Friends helps our younger children to feel safe, welcomed and cared for, while our older children grow in confidence, responsibility and leadership. It builds strong relationships across the whole school and helps our children to live out our mission: "Following in the footsteps of Jesus, we love, live and learn together."

We are so proud of the kindness and care our children show one another. Through Faith Friends, they discover that they are part of one big school family, united in God's love.