Our Education Programme for school visits has been designed as a set of suggestions that might be of value to schools wishing to use St Mary’s as an educational resource. We are always happy to meet alternative requests. To ensure clarity in programmes and outcomes a planning meeting is required before a visit is confirmed. Broadly we suggest:

  • Key Stage 1 – Church
  • Key Stage 2 – Church and Town
  • Key Stage 3 – Church and Nation

Lower KS1 – Big and beautiful

A short (1 hour) guided visit looking at the structure and shapes within the building and at  stories in the stained glass, and finding hedgehogs (not as odd as it seems – it’s a symbol associated with the church and area). Music can be part of the experience if requested.

Because of the many uses made of the building, prior booking is essential. For this and any other enquiries please contact the Benefice Administrator

Upper KS1 – What do they do in Church?

A somewhat longer (1 1/2 hour) guided visit with hands-on experience of:

  • Prayer
  • Communion
  • Baptisms
  • Weddings

KS2 – Church and Town

A half day programme tailored to the needs of the individual schools but offering an introduction to the Church and its life in Ross across the centuries.

Five workshops are available:

  • Medieval beginnings
  • The Civil War
  • St.Mary’s and Education in Ross
  • St.Mary’s and Health in Ross
  • Remembering

All five can be offered at the same time (five small groups of 5 or 6) or the materials for any one theme can be made available for a class of up to 30

A supporting booklet for KS2 teachers can be downloaded here: ks2-background-booklet

Worksheets supporting KS2 and KS3 activities can be downloaded here:

KS3 – Church and Nation

A half day programme linking the structure, records, and memorials of St Mary’s to national developments across the centuries.

Five themes are available:

  • Medieval life on the Borders
  • Reformation and Renaissance
  • Trade and slavery
  • The Charitable Age
  • World Wars and the people

The materials for each theme will be available for a class group. Please see above for worksheet downloads.

Curriculum coverage

The workshops above are designed to reflect National Curriculum requirements and consist of five activities on each topic or theme. A background paper is provided for each theme. The activities include spirituality, mathematics in use, drama, creative arts, geography and history. Materials will be provided where appropriate.

Staffing, practical considerations and costs

We offer three staffing alternatives:

  1. St Mary’s guides working with the school staff,
  2. St Mary’s guides working with church volunteers,
  3. School self-staffing.

Where staffing patterns 1 or 3 are used we only ask for a donation towards the cost of materials used. Where staffing pattern 2 is used a charge of £40 (£25 for the KS1 visits) is made to cover additional costs, but this is discussed at the planning meeting before visits.

All the St Mary’s volunteers have DBS clearance. Toilets are available for use in the building.

If you work in a school and would like to bring along a group please contact us.