In the transition between primary and secondary school it is often difficult for parents to sustain the previously strong sense of connection between a child and their parish.

In primary school there is regular contact with the parish priest, and the parish primary school has an active role in the life of the parish. Catholic Secondary schools do not have this direct relationship with any particular parish. This makes it all the more important that parents take a direct and conscious decisions about how the family lives its Catholic life, for example by regular sharing in the parish celebration of Sunday.

Catholic secondary schools actively promote a Catholic ethos, but they rely on the cooperation of families to integrate this into the weft and warp of their lives, so that children are able to develop a strong and healthy sense of Catholic identity and purpose.

In the year before the move to Secondary School children have the opportunity of receiving the sacrament of Confirmation. Their first year in Secondary school is a key time for them to learn to grow and develop in the gifts they received. They can do this in many ways and places, but there is a particular virtue in them doing this in the parish to which they belong. 

The children have been part of that parish community, many of them, since their earliest days. Now they are coming to a new maturity and are ready to take responsibility for themselves and others. It can be especially good for them to do this in the community that already knows and cares for them and will support and encourage them as they continue to grow and develop.

Bishop Walsh Catholic School puts a high value on families and their children remaining active in their local parish, and to help with this has introduced the Bishop Walsh Award.
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• The Bishop Walsh Award is open to all children in Year 7 (whether attending Bishop Walsh school or not, so long as they attend participating parishes).  The scheme will also therefore help pupils maintain their existing friendships with children from primary school who may have been dispersed amongst a variety of Secondary Schools.
  

• The Award will be given each September to those pupils who have successfully completed a service project in their parish during the previous year. These projects will include being a parish server; a parish reader, member of a music group;  part of the hospitality team; assisting with Children’s Liturgy of the Word; helping run a Traidcraft Stall; helping with a junior youth group or with the maintenance of parish gardens. Some parishes will be able to offer a wide range of activities to choose from, other may offer fewer.
• Service projects will normally take up two hours a month, usually in two sessions of an hour each. Depending on the service project they may also coincide with Mass and so involve some time in addition to Mass time.

• An application form to join the scheme will be available in September.