Not your average school bus…
On a Sunday afternoon at the start of the autumn term, Harris Academy in Rugby hosted the Thrive Youth Bus* for an afternoon of fun, to welcome a group of new Year7 students. These young people had connected with Thrive, iSingPOP and a group of churches from across Rugby Deanery through a series of ‘stepping up’ worskshops** run in their schools in the summer term. These workshops were designed to help the young people in their final year of primary school as they prepared for the big step up to secondary education.
The event at Harris was a celebration of what had been, and a chance to meet new friends for the next stage of the journey. The Rugby Mission Hub worked with a group of churches from across Rugby deanery who each have a church school in their parish. Together, they funded the event (with a contribution from the Diocesan Mission Fund) and provided volunteers to host the young people on the day. James Yates from Thrive, and Emma Kenyon from iSingPOP were also at the event, to host some Karaoke and Games and provide a connection point for the young people they had met the previous term. The afternoon was enjoyed by everyone who attended, and gave the new year 7 students an opportunity to have fun in their new school before even starting their studies. As well as helping the young people in their journey into the next phase of education (and life!) the project aimed to support the relational link between the local churches and the young people they have known throughout their primary school experience.
Each church has been on a journey with their young people; exploring faith and spirituality through times of collective worship and engagement in the RE curriculum. The step up to Year 7 is a time of excitement, but for many young people it is also a time of stress and worry – as they seek to find their place in a wider world. This is a time when their spiritual growth and exploration needs continued support and opportunity for questions and reflection. However, churches often lose touch with them when they make the move to secondary school.
It’s all about the personal touch…
Another Church that has taken a creative approach to Stepping Up is St Mary’s, Walsgrave in Coventry. Rev Tom Cook is a regular visitor to Walsgrave CofE Primary school throughout the year both supporting collective worship and as a Governor at the school. Over time, he has built relationships with children and has taken an interest in them as individuals; asking what they enjoy and what they are good at. Two years ago, Tom decided to write a personal card to each of the Year 6 students for teachers to share with them as they graduated. As well as a personal message of encouragement, each card included an invitation to come to a new mid-week youth group at St Mary’s, and a lot of the young people responded. At first, Tom thinks they came largely to connect with old primary school friends that were at different secondary schools. But soon, this initial group started to invite new friends from their new school! This quickly grew to a regular attendance of 40 young people, meaning that more volunteers were needed.
A great come back…
In Wellesbourne, Rev Greg Bartlem and the team invited their graduating Year 6 students to a ‘reunion’ at the beginning of Year 7 – an opportunity to come back and connect with peers and adults they had known throughout their time at primary school. A number of these young people were keen to continue meeting together, so the team now host them weekly in a local café where they have a time to eat, drink and pray together, along with a bible study or discussion around a big life topic.
How will you Step Up?
If you or your church have built relationships with young people through their time at primary school, and you would like to think through how you can continue to support them as they move on to secondary education, please get in touch with James Henney, the Diocese of Coventry Growing Faith Enabler who will be happy to talk through ideas and options with you. You can contact James by emailing james.henney@coventry.anglican.org
* The Thrive Youth Bus comes equipped with a variety of games consoles, as well as board games, sports and craft equipment, and a turbo oven which can be used to quickly and easily heat food (such as pizza). The bus comes with a driver - who is also an experienced youth worker. The driver will offer support to local volunteers as they host and engage with young people. Churches and Schools can book the Thrive Youth Bus for sessions by contacting andy@thriveym.org.uk or calling the Thrive Office on 01926 257118
** Thrive Youth Ministries will be offering support to churches to run ‘Stepping Up’ Workshops in primary schools in the spring and summer term of 2026. These workshops are based on the popular ‘It’s your move’ materials created by Scripture Union and offer young people an opportunity to reflect on and process the emotions involved in the big transition from primary to secondary school. If you would like to enquire about these sessions, contact andy@thriveym.org.uk or call the Thrive Office on 01926 257118.