This week in our school community: 6 November 2026
...Young Lasallians as change-makers...
Year 11 leaders gather at Mission Possible: Builders of a better world
From Wednesday 21 to Friday 23 October, 136 student leaders from sixteen Lasallian schools across Ireland, England and Malta gathered for Mission Possible: Builders of a Better World, the first District-wide Student Leadership programme. The event was made possible because of the generosity of the Brothers of Ireland, Great Britain and Malta. Over three days, the students reflected on Lasallian leadership and faith formation, and how they are called to be change makers in their schools and communities. There was also time for reflection and discernment on vocation.
The programme opened on Wednesday evening with a welcome and opening prayer, followed by a session on De La Salle, what it means to be a Lasallian Leader today and discovering a vocation with Br Jorge Sierra, FSC, from the Lasallian District of ARLEP (Spain and Portugal). On Thursday, Br Chris Patiño, FSC, who serves as a General Councilor, gave a keynote address that challenged the young people through an engaging presentation focused on “Building a More Fraternal World: Young Lasallians as Change Makers.”. Each student took part in three Skills Building workshops. They were given the opportunity to choose from: Discovering your Leadership Style, Growth Mindset, Diversity and Inclusion in Leadership, Goal Setting and Meditation, Conflict Resolution and Restorative Practices, Social Justice and our Call as Lasallian Leaders, Discerning our Purpose, and Dynamic Celebration of the Word and Prayer Services.
Alongside the workshops and keynote sessions, the students met daily in eleven small groups to reflect on the experience with students from different schools, each accompanied by one of the Volunteers from Kintbury. Students also had the chance to share best practices in building Lasallian Identity from their schools. The days also made room for reflection time, prayer and evenings of fun and games. The programme closed with a commissioning, sending students home as builders of a better world.
Our students left the event feeling enthused and eager to use their gifts to make a positive impact on the community of St Gregory’s. We look forward to their ideas and hard work in the coming months.
Culture and Diversity Week is a resounding success
Our annual Culture and Diversity celebrations were once again a resounding success this year, with our Camino primary schools joining us for a week in which we reflected upon the idea of flourishing. The week began with our international food market, with an array of food being shared with one another. The amount and variety of food, which tasted absolutely delicious was a reflection of the pride our young people and their families have in home recipes. Dish of the Day went to Veritas O, who’s meat pies were rated truly outstanding. £150 was raised to support the work of Bath Welcomes Refugees.
Food continued to be a key part of our celebrations throughout the week with our caterers serving up food from Japan, Australia, Korea and Indonesia in the kitchen. These countries tied in with art workshops organised and led by Alicja, Erin and Lisa – the sixth form students were inundated with eager students all week as they created Korean lanterns, Japanese fans and many more pieces of art. They were also responsible for organising a whole school collage that represented the variety and flourishing of world flowers. The final result looks beautiful and will be displayed all year.
The weather wasn’t particularly kind to Freya who had planned a week of world sports for students to try, however, she was able to get out on the astro for one lunchtime with some students to try baseball before watching classic handball matches and other sports over lunch on other days. We were immensely proud of the students who planned and delivered assemblies all week, both in school and over Zoom to our partner primary schools. They spoke so eloquently about the joys of being a diverse community and the benefits this brings to us. Antonia in Year 8 was the star as she shared a detailed account of how it felt to be between two cultures as a Romanian living in the UK. Fellow students were in awe of her passion and love of her home country - she could be an ambassador for the Romanian tourist service already.
Our final day of the week was devoted to cultural dress up and karaoke. Always a highlight of the week, we were so impressed with how respectful and appreciative the young people in our school are when dressed up in such alternate attire. School was a patchwork of colour and vibrancy as can be seen in some of the photos from the day. Speaking of colour and vibrancy, we were so incredibly blessed to start this new term with the final event of our culture and diversity celebrations as Kathakali performed for Year 7 & 8. An internationally acclaimed drama and dance group, Kathakali brought an ancient way of performing from Kerala, India, to our stage with elaborate costumes (due to be displayed in the V & A Museum, London, shortly) and make up that takes hours to apply. The group shared a performance themed on vanity with live musicians and ancient sign language that left our young people spellbound. A huge thanks to Mrs Richards for organising this, as well as all of the 1719 Society and school Senate for their hard work in making Culture and Diversity Week a success.
Remembrance Day Commemorations
Students are permitted to attend school in their cadet uniforms on Wednesday 11 November as we commemorate this important day in the calendar. If your child attends Scouts, Guides, any of the cadet organisations such as St John Ambulance, Sea Cadets, Police Cadets, etc, these are all permitted to be worn on the 11th instead of school uniform. On 10 and 11 November we will celebrate Mass as a school community and some representatives of the school will attend a memorial service at Firs Field, Combe Down, on behalf of St Gregory’s.
Mr Robinson
Lay Chaplain
