Maricourt mark Holocaust Remembrance Liverpool secondary school stars in Songs of Praise

Students from The Academy of St Francis of Assisi, Kensington, featured in a recent episode of BBC One’s Songs of Praise Songs of Praise has been a much-loved religious television programme for over 60 years. While Christian hymns of varying denominations remain a key part of the show, in 2014 it adopted a magazine style format in order to reflect the wider Christian audience across the country.

The academy welcomed Rev Kate Bottley, former Gogglebox star and journalist, as part of a segment on the show around the end of life which encourages people of all ages to talk, listen and share their thoughts on the subject.

The discussion took place in the academy’s chapel with over 20 students talking openly about the topic. A range of questions were put to the students including ‘What music would you like to have played at your funeral?’ and ‘What is your favourite possession and who are you leaving it to?’.

One student said her bible was her most prized possession as it contains all her personal annotations.

Jack Eaglestone explained that his birth certificate was very important to him. He explained: “I would leave it to my brother, mainly because my middle name is Dalgleish after the very famous former Liverpool FC player, and I managed to get it signed by him [Kenny Dalgleish].”

After the discussion, Rev Kate Bottley asked students how they found the exercise, and all of them said they found it liberating. Niota Mupingu told Rev Kate: “I found it very insightful and it was nice to talk about things and hear other people’s opinions.”

Chenelle Owuoawa added: “I think that if you talk about death rather than being scared of it, it makes it a lot easier.”

Headteacher of The Academy of St Francis Assisi, Ms Jo Leech said: “It was a pleasure to welcome BBC Songs of Praise into the academy. The students were really engaged with the thought-provoking activity and shared their honest opinions about the end of life which is important to talk about at any age.”

The Academy of St Francis of Assisi is of joint Roman Catholic and Church of England faith. Its distinct Christian ethos underpins every aspect of academy life, with students engaging in daily acts of worship and prayer, in form time and during year group assemblies.

The full episode can be watched on BBC iPlayer here: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/ m001h8nd/songs-of-praise-faith-and-grief