Collective Worship

 Diocese of Middlesbrough

 

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough is home to 56 schools and academies providing Catholic education to just over 17,700 children and young people.   The Diocese covers the large historic geographical area of the ‘North Riding’, with schools and academies in the 7 Local Authority areas of Redcar & Cleveland, Middlesbrough, Stockton on Tees, North Yorkshire, York, East Riding and Hull.   The diocese is led by Bishop Marcus Stock, the Apostolic Administrator of the Middlesbrough Diocese (& Bishop of the Leeds Diocese) who provides Catholic schools to help him as first educator of the Diocese in his mission of making Christ known to all people.   Bishop Stock was born in London in 1961, was ordained a priest in 1988 and ordained and installed Bishop of Leeds on 15th September 2014 and installed as the Apostolic Administrator of Middlesborough on 22nd December 2025.   We are guided and overseen on Christ's journey to knowing and loving him more fully by our Bishop. Our Bishop's vision is: To make Christ known and loved, through the provision of excellent Catholic education and schools intent on finding Christ in their daily lives and sharing that encounter with others.   It is the mission of all Diocesan schools to contribute to the creation of a society that is highly educated, skilled and cultured making a contribution to the common good of society and its culture

 

https://middlesbrough-diocese.org.uk/

Our School Saint

Things you might not know about St George!

ST GEORGE WASN'T ENGLISH...
St George might be hailed as a English national hero, but he was actually born – in the 3rd century AD – more than 2,000 miles away in Cappadocia (modern day Turkey). He is thought to have died in Lydda (modern day Israel) in the Roman province of Palestine in AD 303. It is believed that his tomb was in Lod and was a centre of Christian pilgrimage.

... AND HE WASN'T A KNIGHT EITHER
Although George is often depicted in popular culture as a knight in shining armour, the truth is less fanciful. Whilst St George was depicted from the 11th century as a chivalric knight or a warrior on horseback, it is more likely that he was an officer in the Roman army.

ST GEORGE WAS A MARTYR ...
Like many saints, St George was described as a martyr after he died for his Christian faith. It is believed that, during the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century, St George was executed for refusing to make a sacrifice in honour of the pagan gods

... BUT HE NEVER VISITED ENGLAND
Although St George never visited England, his reputation for virtue and holiness spread across Europe and his feast day (23rd April) was celebrated in England from the 9th century onwards. He became popular with English kings. Edward I (1272-1307) had banners bearing the emblem of St George (a red cross on a white background) and Edward III (1327-77) had a strong interest in the saint and owned a relic of his blood. The St George cross was not used to represent England until the reign of Henry VIII.

THE DRAGON WAS ADDED LATER
The story goes that St George rode into Silene (modern day Libya) to free the city from a dragon who had a taste for humans, but it’s a story which post-dates the real George by several centuries. Images of George and the dragon survive from the 9th century – 500 years after his death. Originally these may simply have been representations of the battle between Good and Evil. But the story was developed and popularised in the Middle Ages in a compendium of stories about saints’ lives, The Golden Legend.

ST GEORGE WAS A SAINT FOR 1000 YEARS BEFORE THE 'HOLIDAY'
St George was canonised in AD 494 by Pope Gelasius, who claimed he was one of those 'whose names are justly revered among men but whose acts are known only to God'. A feast day of St George has been celebrated in England for hundreds of years on 23rd April, which was possibly the date of his martyrdom. Following the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, St George's Day became one of the most important feast days in the English calendar.

ENGLAND ISN'T THE ONLY COUNTRY TO CELEBRATE ST GEORGE
St George is truly an international saint and England is not the only country or region to claim him as its patron.
England shares St George with Venice, Genoa, Portugal, Ethiopia and Catalonia among others as their patron saint and many of these places have their own celebrations and ceremonies in his honour.

PEOPLE TURNED TO ST GEORGE FOR PROTECTION
During the Middle Ages, people believed that St George was one of the 'Fourteen Holy Helpers' – a group of saints who could help during epidemic diseases. St George's protection was invoked against several nasty diseases, many fatal and with infectious causes, including the Plague and leprosy.
From around 1100, St George’s help was also sought to protect the English army. In William Shakespeare’s Henry V, the monarch calls on the saint during his battle cry at the Battle of Harfleur in the famous “Once more unto the breach, dear friends” speech, crying “God for Harry! England, and St. George!” Five hundred years later – during the First World War – a ghostly apparition of St George is said to have aided British troops during their retreat from Mons, and the naval commander of the Zeebrugge Raid cited the saint as inspiration.

ST GEORGE REPRESENTS THOSE WE HONOUR

The Order of the Garter (founded by Edward III in 1348) is the highest order of chivalry in the country. To this day St George’s cross still appears on the Garter badge and his image is the pendant of the Garter chain. In 1940 King George VI created a new award for acts of the greatest heroism or courage in circumstance of extreme danger. The George Cross, named after the king, bears the image of St George vanquishing the dragon. The image of St George also adorns many of the memorials built to honour those killed during World War One.

Our Parish Church

 

St George's is a church-cum-hall built on the outlying Eastfield district in 1957. An independent parish from 1965 (Architect: Francis Johnson of Bridlington).

A modest design by the Bridlington architect Francis Johnson, built as a combined church and hall.

The church was originally built as a combined church and hall (cost £15,000), to serve the expanding housing estates of Eastfield, southwest of Scarborough. Mass had previously been said in Eastfield Community Centre. The building was enlarged after a separate parish was created in 1965 but reverted to use as a chapel-of-ease in 1999.

Description

A long rectangular building, red brick with pantile roof. Church hall at one end, church at the other, divided by a folding screen enabling the two to be thrown together. The appearance of the building is more that of a church hall or community centre than an ecclesiastical building, i.e. domestic-style windows, doors and proportions. The original windows are of Crittall type with square leaded glazing. 1980s addition along the entrance side of the building, comprising a lean-to kitchen and other service facilities and gabled entrance bays, the church entrance with a larger segmental arch and glazed screen.

The interior has wooden pews (from the demolished Houghton Hall chapel) and sanctuary furnishings of 1957 or later, but all of a piece. There are small recesses for side chapel and electronic organ

Worship team & Mini Vinnies

Children in Years 5 and 6 can apply to be part of the Worship team, who organise music for worship and lead liturgies with their own class and with younger children.

We also have a team of 8 Mini Vinnies who are selected from across our KS2 classes. They are led by Miss Abbey and 'turn concern into action!'