This year, La Retraite RC Girls School decided to introduce into the syllabus Community Cohesion Expriences which would take place once a month on the PHSCE Days. These are days which are dedicated to learning about one specific topic and are parallel to the original meaning of PHSCE days; personal, social, communal and educational learning, which is very significant throughout our school.

Prior to the community cohesion experiences being introduced, year 7,8 and 9 went on different trips to Neasden Mandir, Battersea Park Buddhist Peace Pagoda, West London Synagogue and the Jewish Museum to learn more about other faiths and cultures.

Sinead Nolan, a current year 9 student at La Retraite spoke about her experiences and said "The best part of the trip was the coach ride also it was really interesting to find out about Jewish history from someone that has experienced it"

When asked about what she had learnt she added " I never knew it was so expensive to make a Torah, i never really had paid any attention to the intricate detail that was on this peice of material, it is a really beautiful sight."

The synagougue trip was benefitial to countless members of the lower school. It enabled people within the lower years to understand diffrent cultures and religions other than christianity. This scheme is hoped to continue for many years to come, so will therefore educate a large amount La Retraite girls.

Based on information supplied by Jessie Ofei.