Feast day of fun at St John Bosco Arts College

On the feast day of St John Bosco, St John Bosco Arts College in Liverpool celebrated the day with a fun-filled schedule of activities for pupils on 31 January.

St John Bosco is the Patron Saint of young people, especially those living in poverty. In some instances, he is also referred to as the Patron Saint of school children.

St John Bosco founded the Salesian Order which worked in educating boys and young men of the working class.

With St Mary Mazzarello, he founded the ‘Daughters of Our Lady Help of Christians’ in 1872, a congregation of nuns dedicated to similar work among girls.

This is a very special event in the school’s calendar. All normal classes were stopped, giving students and teachers a rest from work.

Early in the day, the whole school took part in a mass to celebrate the feast of its Patron Saint.

After mass, a number of events had been arranged for students in all year groups to take part in throughout the day. The theme for the day was ‘Salesian Superheroes’. Pupils participated in a number of exciting activities, including making their own superhero masks and creating dream catchers. Sportier activities included sumo wrestling, gladiators and basketball. Darren Gidman, headteacher of St John Bosco Arts College, said: “St John Bosco Arts College is a school for Salesian superheroes in the making.

“Getting everybody celebrating our Feast Day together, for the first time since the pandemic, was a true testament to our mission of providing a vibrant and ambitious Catholic education.

“I am proud to lead such a dedicated and passionate community, we are already looking forward to next year’s Feast Day celebration, with even more superheroic hijinks!”