We are very proud to be a Church in Wales Voluntary Aided School and a part of the St Asaph Diocese family of schools. Church schools are inclusive by nature, welcoming children from families of all faiths and none, while recognising that faith is something that shapes people’s lives. Our Christian Ethos Committee pupils play an important role in promoting Christian values within the school.
We have very strong links with St Mary’s Church which is just a two-minute walk from school. We regularly attend Collective Worship there, and each class visits every half term for a lesson with the Priest in Charge. Since February 2023, this has been Father Jeremy Dussek, who also regularly attends school to lead our whole school Collective Worship and is an Ex-Officio Foundation Governor on our school Governing Body.
Children also have the opportunity to present their Class Collective Worship at Church, often following events in the Liturgical Calendar. These services are always well attended by parents and carers and the children take great pride in using their oracy skills when presenting for an audience.
We have a weekly Collective Worship timetable in school, allowing time for Whole School, Key Stage and individual Class Worship. Each class has a Reflection Area, to provide a calm space for individual reflection and prayer.
Our school family ethos is underpinned by our strong Christian Values. We focus our worship on a specific value each half term, and our collective worship helps us to reflect and think more about this value. During the week, we look out for children who demonstrate our the values in everyday life around the school, and we celebrate these on a Friday with our Values Awards, which are presented in our Whole School Celebration Assembly.
The guides below provide some ideas as to things you can do at home with your child to build on the values-based approach we undertake in school.
Our Values – ‘Talk About it Together’
Bishop Gregory’s Christmas Card Competition
The Bishop of St Asaph holds an annual competition for pupils of the 50 Church schools within the Diocese to design a Christmas card. St Mary’s pupils enjoy taking part in this competition, and one of our pupils designed the winning card for Christmas 2023.
In the 2024 Christmas Card Competition, Robyn was awarded 2nd prize , and the judges were so impressed with her design that they put it on the back of the official card! We also had two Very Highly Commended and 12 Highly Commended entries.
Considering 50 church schools enter this competition annually, to have this many prize winners really illustrates what a creative bunch of children we have at St Mary’s!
The results of Bishop Gregory’s Christmas 2025 Card Competition are in! ⭐️👏🏻🎄 This year, we have lots of Highly Commended winners! Da iawn to everyone who took part, we’re sure the judges had a tricky job, we sent off some brilliant designs! ⭐️💕🎄
Father Jeremy
On 23rd February 2026, we said a very fond farewell to Father Jeremy as he gets ready to begin a new adventure in Wolverhampton.
We gathered together for his final service in school, where the children asked some wonderfully thoughtful questions about his time at St Mary’s and what he is most looking forward to in his new role. Father Jeremy shared some of his favourite memories of our school, our church, and the wider community here in Overton. It was such a special moment to reflect on the many happy times we’ve shared.
We are so grateful for the care, guidance and joy Father Jeremy has brought to our school family. Although we will miss him very much, we are excited for him as he begins this new chapter. He has promised to come back and visit us over the coming months and years, which we will very much look forward to!
To say thank you, we presented him with a book filled with our messages, shared a poem of thanks, our memories and heartfelt thanks, along with some treats and a carefully crafted wooden cross made from wood taken from a fallen church yew tree. It felt like a very fitting and meaningful gift to share.
We keep Father Jeremy in our thoughts and prayers, wishing him every happiness and blessing as he begins this exciting new chapter.
After School Bible Craft Club
We’ve had a wonderful three weeks at our after-school Bible Craft Club with Louise Youens, working with children from Years 1–6. 🌿
The children created a beautiful prayer tree where everyone could add their own prayers and help decorate it, and they also made lovely sun catchers. They really enjoyed listening to Louise share a short story about the importance of prayer, linked to the Lord’s Prayer. ✨
It has been such a special time, and the children absolutely loved it. We are so thankful to Louise for generously sharing her time and expertise with us. We’re already looking forward to welcoming her back to St Mary’s in the coming months to do more work with the children. 💛
Fundraising
