7 October 2026
Dr Gary Wade, Chaplain
On Wednesday 30 September, eight Year 8 students, Miss Niekirk and I travelled to Newcastle for HeartFest - a celebration of what it means to belong to the worldwide network of Sacred Heart Schools. Joined by students and staff from Sacred Heart schools in Hammersmith and Roehampton, we began with a visit to two sister schools in Newcastle – Sacred Heart RC High School and Fenham Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School – after which students and staff from all five schools spent three days together at the Emmaus Retreat Centre in nearby Consett. Here, students explored this year’s Sacred Heart goal of social awareness, as well as Artisans of Peace, the Sacred Heart Society’s global peace-building initiative, joining together in creative work, and in prayer and preparation for a celebration of the Word. We also all enjoyed activities such as karaoke and gathering around a fire pit for s’mores and a singsong.
It was a deeply enriching experience for all of us and a reminder of what it means to belong to such an important network of schools, with a distinctive ethos, rooted in the Catholic tradition.