School News

Year’s 5 & 6 R.E topic this term is Judaism. At the beginning of Febraury, they had a wonderful time visiting the Synagogue in Leicester, which is a part of the Leicester Hebrew Congregation. In support of the Religious Education curriculum, this visit was an integral part of the children's learning experience, where they had the chance to study the traditions and customs of the Jewish Faith.

"I learnt that Jewish people read from right to left and not left to right. Also, that the women pray upstairs but men pray downstairs. The last thing I learnt was that whenever the Torah was being written if there was one mistake the person who was writing would have to start again. Another thing was that the Torah took around 1 year to write and if it was fully unscrolled it would reach from one end of a football pitch to another. I found it interesting that the woman prayed upstairs because they believe that women are more important than men. I also found it interesting that the prayer shawls have tassels on the end of each corner. Every single strand totals up to 613 which is the number of Jewish rules. The girls and boys under the age of 12 and 13 need to follow the 10 commandments." - By Amelia R, Year 6

"When I first walked into the Synagogue, I felt grateful that I could experience something like this. I enjoyed looking inside the Ark and seeing the golden plate to protect the Torah. I found the way they pray interesting because they pray quite a lot. I learnt that when the Jewish people read they read back to front. I really enjoyed the Synagogue and it’s definitely a place I would like to visit again." – By Jude C, Year 6