What is Sanctum
Sanctum is an interactive prayer space that’s set up for a week giving students an opportunity to think about their lives through a whole variety of creative and reflective activities. Students visit as part of an RE lesson or at break or lunchtime.
Sanctum achieves a number of objectives including giving young people an open-ended approach to exploring prayer for themselves, as well as the therapeutic benefit of taking time out to think about their lives in a positive way. It makes a distinctive contribution to the teaching of RE and to Spiritual Moral Social and Cultural development and is a regular event in the life of many Colchester Schools.
The real impact though is in the lives of the young people who visit, the overwhelming majority of whom report that it has made a positive difference to their lives.
As Sophie from Year 9 said, “It has been good to clear my head and remind me of what’s important.“
In the Sixth Form College many students want to chat to the chaplains in the corridors and social spaces. Sanctum in a Suitcase is a way of carrying one spiritual development activity with us in our walks around college, creating moments of thoughtful reflection, even in the midst of everyday busyness.