THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

CONTENTS

SECTION 1: BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1. Contact details

2. Background information on The Big Assembly – statistics, key people and outline

3. An Introduction to Catholic Education – statistics, history and legal basis

4. Biographies of lead participants

SECTION 2: BACKGROUND PAPERS AND ORDER OF SERVICE

1. A Brief History of Catholic Education (published in ‘Magnificat – Liturgies and Events of the Papal Visit of Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom September 16th to 19th 2010’)

2. Order of service for The Big Assembly

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

Contact details

Press officer for The Big Assembly Maeve McCormack Policy and Briefing Manager Catholic Education Service for England and Wales

Tel: 020 7901 1914 Email: [email protected] Web: www.linkinachain.wordpress.com (The Big Assembly blog) www.thepapalvisit.org.uk (Official Papal Visit website)

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

Background information

Background to The Big Assembly The Holy Father’s first engagement on English soil will be a gathering of nearly 4000 schoolchildren and young people at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham – The Big Assembly.

This is an exciting opportunity to celebrate Catholic education in the United Kingdom and the outstanding work that takes place in Catholic schools, colleges and universities across the country.

The Big Assembly will take place at the start of the academic year and will highlight the way in which the works with the State and local communities to provide Catholic education in over 2300 schools across the United Kingdom. This unique partnership between Church and State ensures the provision of Catholic schools with a distinctive ethos for around 1 million students. The Big Assembly will showcase the strong positive contribution that Catholic schools make to society as a whole.

The theme for The Big Assembly is ‘I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full’ (John 10:10)

Who will be involved? Participants will come from schools across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and from the Catholic university colleges and universities in England.

In addition, this event will be streamed live into every Catholic school across the United Kingdom, where millions of pupils, teachers, parents, governors and parishioners will gather to watch The Big Assembly as a school community.

Participants at The Big Assembly will include:

Nearly 4000 children and young people from schools, colleges and universities across the United Kingdom

Rt Hon Michael Gove MP (Secretary of State for Education)

Rt Hon Vince Cable MP (Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills)

Sarah Teather MP (Minister of State for Children and Families)

Nick Gibb MP (Minister of State for Schools)

Lord Hill of Oareford CBE (Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Schools)

Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues OP (Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education)

Bishop Malcolm McMahon OP (Chairman of the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales)

Bishop George Stack (Chair of the Board of Governors, St Mary’s University College)

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

Dr Arthur Naylor (Principal, St Mary’s University College)

Councillor David Marlow (Mayor of Richmond-upon-Thames)

Oona Stannard (Chief Executive and Director of the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales)

HE Mrs Elizabeth Ya Eli Harding (High Commissioner, The Gambia)

Senior officials from the Department of Education

Union officials and other representatives from the major teaching unions

Diocesan education officers from across the United Kingdom

What’s going to happen? The purpose of this event is to celebrate Catholic education in the United Kingdom in the presence of the Holy Father. Lead participants will lead the celebration and highlights include:

The Holy Father will be greeted on campus by a welcome party including Bishop George Stack, Chair of the Board of Governors at St Mary’s University College; Dr Arthur Naylor, Principal of St Mary’s University College; the Rt Hon Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills; the Rt Hon Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education; Councillor David Marlow, Mayor of Richmond-upon-Thames; Oona Stannard, Chief Executive of the Catholic Education for England and Wales and David Leen, Vice-Principal of St Mary’s University College

The Holy Father will address the gathered young people and lead the congregation in the Lord’s Prayer

Two school choirs (one of which is the ‘Songs of Praise’ School Choir of the Year and the other is from a school set to become the first maintained choir school in the United Kingdom) will sing for the Holy Father and lead the congregation in three hymns

Pupils from schools in England, Scotland and Wales will present the Holy Father with gifts representing the spiritual heritage of the United Kingdom

Prayer will be lead by representatives from each phase of Catholic education and will be based on the writings of John Henry Cardinal Newman

The links between Catholic schools in the United Kingdom and other schools around the world will be celebrated through a showcase of an English’s school collaboration with its partner school in The Gambia

The John Paul II Foundation for Sport will be launched (a schools’ project following Pope John Paul II’s vision that sport and faith should work hand in hand)

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

An Introduction to Catholic Education in England and Wales

There are over 2,300 Catholic schools or sixth form colleges in England and Wales, making up 10% of all schools and colleges nationally. The vast majority of these are voluntary-aided maintained schools or colleges, and over 150 are Catholic independent schools, including 9 special schools. There are also 3 Catholic academies and 20 schools (including one academy) run jointly with other Christian Churches.

Catholic maintained schools and colleges in England and Wales currently educate nearly 800,000 pupils. In 2008, the proportion of Catholic pupils in Catholic maintained schools in England and Wales was around 75% in England and 65% in Wales.

As well as schools, there are three Catholic University Colleges in England: St Mary’s University College, Twickenham; Trinity College, Leeds; and Newman College, Birmingham. Liverpool Hope University is a jointly Catholic and Anglican University.

The funding of Catholic schools and colleges The Church contributes substantial amounts of capital towards the upkeep of the maintained school estate, currently amounting to a 10% contribution in England and 15% in Wales. In many cases the Church also has provided or significantly contributed to the land on which the school sits.

A high quality, well-rounded education Ofsted inspections show that Catholic schools rate consistently better than average across all inspection criteria. For example:

Ofsted inspections of schools’ overall effectiveness show that higher proportions of Catholic schools and colleges are placed in the ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ categories. For example Ofsted inspections 2008/2009 judged 79% of Catholic primary schools to achieve this standard compared with 68% of schools nationally. Similarly, 79% of Catholic secondary schools were judged to be outstanding or good compared with 64% of all schools nationally.1

In 2009 Ofsted rated 51% of Catholic schools compared to 37% of national schools as ‘outstanding’, ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ with regard to the extent of learners’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This category of inspection measures factors such as learners’ attitudes to bullying, effective discussion in lessons, and readiness to engage with others from a different cultural background2.

Community cohesion Catholic schools in England and Wales are generally diverse and score highly in inspections of community cohesion. Ofsted inspection data analysed from September 2005 to July 2009 shows that 41% of Catholic secondary schools in England made an outstanding contribution to their communities, compared to 24% of all schools.

1 Schools Census and Edubase, Written answers and statements in Parliament, Hansard 26 Oct 2009 Column 200W 2 Schools Census and Edubase. Written answers and statements in Parliament Hansard 2 Oct 2009 Column 608W

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

The following evidence shows strongly both the inclusivity and diversity of Catholic Schools: Catholic schools exclude fewer pupils than other schools in England and Wales. The percentage of students permanently excluded in Catholic schools in 2007/2008 was 0.09%, whilst the percentage for other schools was 0.11%.3 27% of pupils at Catholic secondary schools are from ethnic minority backgrounds, compared with 22.5% in other schools.4 Catholic schools in England are around the national average figure (0.36%) regarding the number of pupils in care. 5 Almost identical patterns are shown in the distribution of pupils eligible for free school meals between Catholic and community secondary schools. 6% of Catholic schools have more than 35% of pupils eligible for free school meals; the national figure is 7%.6

Catholic higher education The Catholic Church does not only see its involvement in education at the school level. An important part of the mission of the Church is also higher education where the Church offers high quality education, inspired by Christian values and rooted within a strong and distinctive ethos. A Catholic foundation in higher education is understood as:

‘an academic institution which in a rigorous and critical fashion assists in the advancement of human dignity and cultural heritage through research, teaching and services offered to local, national and international communities.’ 6

These values are put into practice at the three Catholic university colleges in England: St Mary’s University College, Twickenham; Leeds Trinity College; and Newman College, Birmingham as well as the jointly Catholic and Anglican University, Liverpool Hope. Many other universities in England and Wales also have connections with Catholic education and/or offer higher education theology courses in the Catholic tradition. These are: Blackfriars Studium, Oxford; Franciscan International Study Centre, Canterbury; Heythrop College, University of London; Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge; Maryvale Institute, Birmingham; Roehampton University, London; University of Wales, Newport and Ushaw College, Durham.

St Mary’s University College The Big Assembly will be at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, where the Pope will celebrate Catholic education. Similar to the other Catholic University Colleges, St Mary’s University College has a long and distinguished history, beginning as a Catholic college for the training of teachers. It was founded in 1850 by the Catholic Poor Schools Committee to enable teachers to provide an education for the growing numbers of poor Catholic children. In 1899, the Church asked the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) to undertake the administration of the College. The College continued to grow and expand and in 2006, the College became St Mary’s University College. It is hoped St Mary’s will soon receive full university status.

3 Schools Census and Edubase, Written answers and statements in Parliament, Hansard 26 Oct 2009 Column 194W 4 Schools Census and Edubase, Written answers and statements in Parliament, Hansard 26 Oct 2009 Column 192W 5 Catholic Education Service for England and Wales: Digest of 2008 Census Data for Schools and Colleges 6 1990 para 12: quoted in The Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Canon Law: Letter and Spirit, p 442)

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

Today St Mary’s provides a diverse range of undergraduate and post-graduate provision with particular strengths, for example in theology, with a third of its provision continuing to focus on the training and development of teachers and school leaders. The University College states that its mission is ‘to provide high-quality academic and professional higher education within a collegial ethos inspired and sustained by Christian values.’

Cardinal John Henry Newman and Higher Education The beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman as part of the Papal Visit is particularly relevant and poignant for those involved in education as Newman is regarded as one of the great intellectual thinkers of the nineteenth century. In one of his famous lectures, ‘The Idea of the University’ he emphasised the main role of the university to train the mind rather than to diffuse useful knowledge. Hence it is fitting that Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting one of the Catholic Church’s Higher Education institutions and celebrating the breadth and depth of Catholic Education in England, Wales and Scotland. This will not be the first time a Pontiff has visited an English Catholic Higher Education Institution, in 1982 Pope John Paul II visited Digby Stuart College, a Roman Catholic college of Roehampton University, as part of his pastoral Visit to the UK. On the 29 May 1982, the Pope addressed a gathering of religious from all communities in England and Wales on the lawn at Digby Stuart College.

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

Biographies of Lead Participants

Andy Akinwolere Andy was educated at St Thomas Aquinas school in Kings Norton and later at Sheffield Hallam University. He is currently the senior presenter on Blue Peter for CBBC. Andy was nominated for the prestigious presenter of the year Children’s BAFTA in 2008 and subsequently nominated with Blue Peter in 2009 for Best Factual Programme. Through Blue Peter he has had opportunities to document on AIDS in Malawi for an appeal sponsored by Unicef, spent six weeks in Bolivia, been choreographed by Michael Jackson’s choreographer, performed in the ‘Lords of the Rings’ musical and even bungee jumped out of a helicopter. Highlights from his career so far include hosting a tea party with The Queen, presenting to an audience on children at Downing Street and orchestrating a gold badge ceremony for Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton.

As a presenter he has had great experience from guest presenting on CBBC’s Safari 8 to the established art show SM:ART. Andy also co-presented a show held in front of a 3,000 strong crowd to celebrate 50 years of Blue Peter, the most established children’s programme in the country.

Bishop Malcolm McMahon OP (Bishop of Nottingham and Chairman of the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales) Born in London on 14 June 1949, Malcolm McMahon was educated at St Aloysius College, Highgate, and UMIST in Manchester, where he graduated in mechanical engineering. After working for the Daimler Motor Company in Coventry and London Transport, he joined the Dominican Order in 1976, and studied at Blackfriars, Oxford. He was professed in 1977, and ordained priest in 1982.

He continued to study at Blackfriars and at Heythrop College, London, before becoming chaplain at Leicester Polytechnic (1984-85). From 1985 to 1989 he was an assistant priest in London, and became parish priest at St Dominic’s, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in 1989. Later that year he was appointed prior and parish priest at St Dominic’s, Haverstock Hill, London.

In 1992 he was elected Prior Provincial of the English Province of Dominicans, based in London. He was re- elected in 1996 and held office until 2001.

Fr McMahon was national chaplain to Marriage Care from 1992 to 1993, and a member of Marriage Care’s national executive from 1993 to 1999.

He was appointed as Bishop of Nottingham on 7 November 2000 and ordained on 8 December 2000, at the Cathedral Church of St Barnabas, Nottingham.

Bishop McMahon is Chair of the Department of Education and Formation of the Bishops Conference and of the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales. He is National President of Pax Christi, the International Catholic Movement for Peace.

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

Siobhan Bellot Siobhan Bellot is the President of the St Mary’s University College Students’ Union for 2010-2011 and a member of the Board of Governors at the University College. She graduated in Summer 2010 from the University College with a BA (Hons) in Drama and Physical Theatre.

Elaine Cahill Elaine Cahill has recently graduated from St Mary’s University College with a BSc in Sport Science. Elaine has been heavily involved in the Church through the ministry of the word and as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. She has given her time freely to fundraise for various charities and has organised HCPT reunion days which are held at St Mary’s for young adults with severe learning disabilities. She was named volunteer of the year by Richmond upon Thames Council for the time she has dedicated time to coaching young children in the wider community.

Holy Cross Primary School (Plymouth) The relationship between Holy Cross Catholic School in Plymouth and St John Vianney School in the Gambia is an exciting connection based on spirituality, mutual friendship and educational well-being. This link has been established by Deputy Head, Leah Burch, and has been supported by the Global Schools Partnership programme run by the British Council.

Holy Rosary and St Anne’s Primary School (Chapeltown, Leeds) Holy Rosary and St Anne’s Catholic Primary School is set to become the first state choir primary school in Britain as they undertake the role of choir school for Leeds Catholic Cathedral. There will be separate boys’ and girls’ choirs that will sing regularly at Leeds Cathedral and every pupil from nursery upwards will be taught to sing, read and write music. With just under 90 per cent of Holy Rosary and St Anne’s pupils coming from ethnic minorities, music is a uniting factor within the school community involving all pupils irrespective of musical ability. The choir is managed by headteacher Kathryn Carter and conducted by Sally Egan.

Maria Fidelis Convent School (Somers Town, London) The Gospel choir of Maria Fidelis Convent School in North London was recently named BBC Songs of Praise Secondary School Choir of the Year 2010. The choir is made up of girls from years 7 to 13 who belong to the upper and lower school choirs, which run as part of the school's extracurricular programme. The choir is managed by assistant headteacher Lyn Newell and conducted by Karen Gibson.

The London Oratory and Cardinal Vaughan Memorial Schools The London Oratory School and Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School both have renowned music departments with a strong tradition of choral and instrumental work. The brass players have come together especially for The Big Assembly.

John Paul II Foundation for Sport The John Paul II Foundation for Sport is a schools’ project following Pope John Paul II’s vision that sport and faith should work hand in hand. Its objectives are to encourage and pass on the teaching of Pope John Paul II through the teaching of the Church with regard to sport, with a particular emphasis on young people.

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

A Brief History of Catholic Education in England and Wales

The Catholic Church was arguably the first provider of schools and universities in England. Following the Reformation in the 16th century, the Church’s role as a provider of public education went largely underground until the 1800s. In 1847 the Catholic Poor School Committee was established, which focused on the promotion of Catholic primary education. This was followed by the re-establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1850. Because the Church has always viewed education as vital to the formation and development of the whole person, it put the setting up of Catholic schools for the Catholic community ahead of building Churches, often using its schools in those early days as the place for worship for the parish. In 1905 the Catholic Education Council was established as the overarching organisation to promote Catholic Education in England and Wales on behalf of the Catholic Bishops (this later become the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales).

Catholic schools continued to be established throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, which, at a time when state involvement in education was still very limited, meant that Catholic parents from underprivileged backgrounds were nevertheless able to send their children to school. Service to those who are amongst the most disadvantaged in our society has also always been central to the mission of Catholic education. Many Catholic schools were established in the 19th Century to meet the needs of poor Catholic immigrants from Ireland and that mission remains strong today, with Catholic schools frequently receiving the disadvantaged from the new immigrant populations from across the world. Catholic dioceses today remain conscious of their responsibility to meet the needs of established local Catholic families, Catholic traveller children and Catholic immigrants from other parts of the world, especially Eastern Europe and parts of Africa, Latin America and South East Asia.

In 1944 the educational landscape across England and Wales changed forever with the passing of the Education Act 1944 (also known as the ‘Butler Act’). This act promised ‘secondary education for all’ and increased the school leaving age to 15, meaning that all children from the post-war generation received a minimum of 10 years of education.

Under the Butler Act, Catholic schools became ‘voluntary aided’ schools. This meant that they became part of the state system of education, whilst retaining their distinctively Catholic ethos through various legal protections which continue to apply to Catholic schools to this day. The agreement between Church and State meant that the funding of Catholic schools was shared by the Catholic foundations of the schools (in most cases the Dioceses or religious orders) and by the government. Today, the Catholic Church contributes around £20 million every year towards the capital costs of its schools.

In 2010, there are over 2300 Catholic schools across England and Wales (Catholic schools make up approximately 10% of the total number of schools nationally). The universality of the Catholic Church means that these schools are the most ethnically diverse of all maintained schools in England and are on a par with other schools in terms of social inclusivity criteria. Ofsted data shows that Catholic schools excel academically and pastorally, and are consistently rated better than other maintained schools in terms of what Ofsted describe as the school’s ‘overall effectiveness’.

The Church is also involved in higher education in England through its three university colleges (St Mary’s in Twickenham, Newman College in Birmingham and Leeds Trinity) and one joint Anglican-Catholic university

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

(Liverpool Hope). This continues the long-established involvement of the Church in higher education in England, which dates back to at least the thirteenth century. Prior to the Reformation, the Church played a major role in the development of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Following the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy, the Bishops’ intention to establish schools meant that teacher training became a priority. With this in mind, a number of teacher training colleges were established (St Mary’s, established in 1850, is one of the oldest). Some of these teacher training colleges have now been subsumed into larger universities, and others have expanded to become university colleges and universities in their own right. Thus, higher education in the Catholic tradition continues to flourish.

Through its involvement in primary and secondary education, the Catholic Church currently educates over 800,000 pupils across England and Wales, in addition to the thousands of students involved in Catholic higher education. As such its stake in education is not only deeply embedded in our country’s history, through its continued collaboration with the state via the dual system, but is something that the Church continues to place an enormously high priority on in 2010.

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

Order of service for The Big Assembly

SECTION A: 9-10.15am 9-10am WARM UP WITH 4000 PARTICIPANTS AT EDUCATION EVENT 1. Andy Akinwolere (Blue Peter presenter) will act as Master of Ceremonies 2. Warm up to include an introduction to the four key themes running through The Big Assembly: faith, community, sport and friendship

9.45am Local pupils from Catholic and community schools to gather in quadrangle to greet Pope and celebrate his State visit.

10am POPE ARRIVES ON CAMPUS AND MOVES TO SMUC CHAPEL. 1. Greeted by Chair of the SMUC Board of Governors (Bishop George Stack), Principal of SMUC (Dr Arthur Naylor), Secretary of State for Education (Rt Hon Michael Gove MP), Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP), the Mayor of Richmond-upon-Thames (Councillor David Marlow), Chief Executive and Director of the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales (Ms Oona Stannard) and the Vice-Principal of SMUC (Mr David Leen)

2. Pope enters chapel for private prayer and reflection with religious (this is broadcast on large screens for all participants on the running track)

SECTION B: 10.15-11.15AM 10.15-11.15am THE BIG ASSEMBLY

1. Holy Father leaves chapel and travels in Popemobile to running track for The Big Assembly.

All running track participants singing (‘Siyahamba/We are walking in the light of God’) as Popemobile travels around the track

Brass fanfare for the Holy Father as he arrives on stage

2. SMUC student to introduce Bishop Malcolm McMahon OP (Chairman of CESEW), who then formally welcomes Holy Father

3. Three trios of pupils (from each of England, Scotland and Wales) process to the stage and then present gifts to the Holy Father, greeting him in the mother tongue of their home country. These pupils will each be accompanied by a student from within the Catholic higher education sector. The English pupils include representatives of the schools that won the TES Awards 2010 for Outstanding Secondary School, Outstanding Primary School and Contribution to Community Cohesion.

4. Choir from Maria Fidelis Convent School (winner of ‘Songs of Praise’ choir of the year competition) sing (‘I will wait’)

THE BIG ASSEMBLY PRESS PACK

5. A celebration of the links between Catholic schools in the United Kingdom and schools around the world focussing on Holy Cross Primary School, Plymouth and St John Vianney Basic Cycle School, The Gambia. A gift made by the Gambian and the Plymouth pupils will be presented by the Plymouth pupils to the Holy Father

6. Choir from Holy Rosary and St Anne’s Primary School in Leeds (expected to become first maintained choir school this Autumn) sing ‘Jubilate Deo’ segueing into ‘Ave Maria’. During this hymn the candles from the John Paul II Foundation for Sport will be lit from paschal candle.

7. Inauguration of John Paul II Foundation for Sport by Holy Father (to include over 30 young people from Catholic schools in each of the 22 Dioceses). Young people to make pledge to work for the goodness of sport.

8. Words of Commitment read by representatives from across the Catholic education community: two pupils, a teacher, a governor, a diocesan officer and a representative of higher education (based on meditation by Cardinal Newman)

9. Vote of thanks given by young person (pupil or student)

10. Pope addresses young people

11. Lord’s Prayer

12. Final blessing from the Holy Father

13. Recessional hymn (‘Fill Your Hearts with Joy and Gladness’ followed by ‘Tell out my Soul’). Pope departs from running track at end of first hymn, whilst participants sing the second hymn