Many children and their teachers from primary schools across Lancashire were at Blackburn Cathedral recently for the all-new Christian Aid 'Big Spring Sing' event.

The Church of England in Lancashire (Blackburn Diocese) was chosen along with one other Diocese to be pilots for a planned bigger national event in years to come.

Eight County schools were then picked to attend the Cathedral by the Diocesan Board of Education and pupils of each spent several weeks prior practising three songs which had been specially written by Fischy Music, a Scottish music charity.

The children led the time of worship by sharing a gospel message, praying and urging people to stand up for injustice in vulnerable communities across the world.

Talitha, a pupil from New Longton All Saints introduced the songs and said: "As a symbol of being united in speaking out against the injustice in our world and the need for us all to work together to make the change that is so desperately needed happen, we are going to sing these songs together in groups for the first time.”

The Mayor of Blackburn, Councillor Parwaiz Akhtar and Alison Brown, Christian Aid’s School’s Programme Officer were also in attendance. 

Alison said: “I want to say a MASSIVE thank you to the Board of Education for all that you did to make the Big Spring Sing happen. You should rightly feel very proud with how it all came together. It makes it more possible for other dioceses to follow in your footsteps.”

Blackburn Diocese was chosen along with St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocese to pilot this project with a view to rolling out the model across the country in future.

Iain Parks, Director of Education, gave a short message to the children and parents who were gathered. 

On the theme of justice he said: “It means that we all have a fair chance, and you, our young people, can make that happen. Believe in yourselves, trust in yourselves and act.”

The headteachers involved had some positive feedback from the evening.  

Samantha O'Connell, Headteacher, St Luke and St Philip's C of E Primary Academy said: “What a great night and a fantastic cause. It was especially good to see all our parents there, watching their children. We were so proud!”

Jim Maloney, Headteacher, New Longton All Saints CE Primary School added, “Thank you and your team so much for organising it and making the evening so special. All the schools were amazing, and it was a wonderful experience for the children to be part of, especially in such a beautiful space, and spreading a really important message, too.”

Rosie Barnes, Head of School and DSL at The Redeemer CE, Blackburn commented: “It was great to see so many people there to support all the children, who were amazing. Lovely to see children from all different schools coming together to sing and present for Christian Aid. We were all so proud of them. Looking forward to the next one!”

And Claire Greenway, Headteacher, St James’ CE Primary School, Chorley summed things up saying: “All the children were wonderful and it was a real joy and privilege to be part of the event.”

The full list of schools involved were: 

• Tockholes St Stephens
• The Redeemer
• Blackburn St Lukes and St Philip's
• Chorley St James
• Cliviger St Johns - School choir
• Darwen Holy Trinity
• New Longton All Saints
• Appley Bridge

Captions for the above photos, top to bottom:

Pic 1 Left to right, Deputy Director and Director of the Board of Education, Sally Schofield and Iain Parks; Alison Brown, Christian Aid’s School’s Programme Officer and The Mayor of Blackburn, Councillor Parwaiz Akhtar, enjoy the singing

Pic 2 Children from Cliviger St Johns choir sing out at the Cathedral

Pic 3 Children from Chorley St James' choir take part in the Big Spring Sing

Pic 4 More children, this time from The Redeemer School in Blackburn enjoy the Big Spring Sing

Ronnie Semley, April 2024