These are our “highly commended” (Rev. Bishop Graham) statues made by Y2 and Y4 in the summer term of 2015 for the Diocese of Norwich’s schools competition ‘Saints in the Making. They were on display alongside many others by local schools in the cloisters of Norwich Cathedral. They then travelled to St Michael’s church in Aylsham to be on display for the rest of the summer months. Our beautiful statues are now safely back at home with us at school ready to greet visitors in our main entrance.
In September 2015, our school name changed from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School to it’s current name, including St Peter. This is because our Catholic parish now includes not just St Mary’s church on Regents Road in Great Yarmouth but also St Peter the Apostle church on Lowestoft Road in Gorleston.
We have made our two statues to celebrate this important time for our school and our parish. Particular care and thought has gone into trying to make sure our statues will survive the test of time as we know we will want them to be in our school community for as long as possible. If only we had made two of each…then we could have one for each of our churches as well!
We chose to make St Peter because we believe he was the first of Jesus’ Apostles. St Peter was proclaimed by Jesus as the rock of the church. Our statue of St Peter has a sash across him bearing the words that Jesus said to him, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” He is holding a key in his hands to symbolise St Peter as the holder of the key to the whole church, the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. He also has his fishing rod and catch to remind us that St Peter was a man of the people. He was a fisherman by trade. The Gospel of St Luke reminds us of why this is important when it says that Jesus had said to Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
We chose to make St Mary not only because she is on of the patron saints of our school but also because we believe she is the greatest of all Christian saints. We believe that St Mary is the Mother of us all and Queen of the whole church. As our Mother, she nurtures the spiritual life of grace for every person. She is present at our sides giving us spiritual nourishment and hope in our daily lives. Our statue is a visual reminder of the place that St Mary has in our hearts and minds each day. The statue will help us in our daily prayer. St Mary is holding a banner with our school motto written on it because she is with us on our journey in faith
The statues will help us in our daily prayer. They will give us comfort when we are worried about the troubles we have in our lives, to help us to not be afraid, and be reminded that through Jesus, we will always find love, peace and joy. St Peter and St Mary will be with us as we journey together in faith.
