Dr Peter Ham, a Reader at St Hildeburgh’s Hoylake and former headteacher, is a leader on the Wirral School Venture last year with Kat. He describes the significant change his church is experiencing because of School Ventures.

‘The youth ministry within our church has been hugely impacted by School Ventures. Initially, there were 10 children that came from our local school, Hoylake Holy Trinity CE Primary, to the Wirral School Venture.

‘At the end of the residential there is a consolidation session, where the children are given the opportunity to join a local church programme, should they wish to. It was during that session that all 10 of the children from the local school decided to join the children’s programme at St Hildeburgh’s which was just incredible.

‘Our school-linked ministries, including Messy Church, Youth Club, Communion in the Community and our Voyagers Sunday classes, have all grown alongside the School Venture weekends, thanks to the very good relationships between the church and the school. We are blessed with enthusiastic participation in many of these activities, which is wonderful to see.

‘Looking to the future, I’m already excited about serving on the next School Venture, and meeting all the children. The gospel is so clearly articulated on these residentials, by a team of brilliant leaders who really do know what they’re doing. It’s a fantastic opportunity for children to explore faith issues, many for the first time, if they wish to. In a society where the gospel is not easily heard amid all the other distractions of life, School Ventures really is a brilliant programme that I would love to be available to every child.’