Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

Day 1 of Primary 7’s residential excursion to Lendrick Muir finished off around the campfire on Tuesday 27th May. The children spent the day engaged in a variety of activities including climbing and team-building and enjoyed a delicious evening meal together (you NEVER go hungry at Lendrick Muir!).

Pupils and staff alike are looking forward to a good night’s sleep to prepare them for another action-packed day tomorrow.

Primary 7 learners were delighted to receive their leavers hoodies on Thursday 22nd May, ahead of their residential trip to Lendrick Muir. The Cathedral-green hoodies feature a large ‘ LEAVERS 25’ on the back containing the names of all 75 Primary 7 pupils moving on from Cathedral at the end of term. Primary 7 can look forward to wearing their hoodies with pride throughout their final weeks in Cathedral.

St Bride’s Hall was a hive of activity on Thursday 22nd May for the third and final day of Cathedral’s 150th anniversary exhibition. Visitors had the opportunity to walk through a timeline of Cathedral’s history, from the Victorian era to the present day; browse old photographs; handle various artefacts and read the school’s logbooks, dating back as far as 1925. Mrs McCarthy was on hand to share photographs of her classes through the years, which was hugely popular. Visitors also had the opportunity to share memories together over some refreshments.

One visitor emailed the school saying: “Myself and my dad were at the St Brides Centre this morning after 10am Mass and I just want to say a big well done to all the pupils and teachers of the school.  The exhibition was great! All the work that went into it was amazing and the young kids at the Victorian part were so chatty, funny and well-informed. My dad has Alzheimer’s and he enjoyed reminiscing while looking at the old photos and really enjoyed talking to the kids. Thank you!”

Television cameras were at the exhibition on the 22nd and an article on Cathedral’s 150th anniversary was broadcast on That’s TV Glasgow (Freeview Channel 8) at 6.00pm on the same day.

Due to Cathedral’s recent inspection, a number of events have had to be moved and we are now under a bit of pressure to try to fit everything in before the end of term. Please go through the revised dates below and make a careful note of those relevant to your child(ren).

Thank you for your understanding.

Summer term dates for diary

Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School marked a historic milestone on Tuesday 20th May with a special Mass in Motherwell Cathedral to celebrate the school’s 150th anniversary.

The Mass, led by Bishop Toal, was a highlight of a year-long programme of commemorative events and included the debut performance of the Mass of Jesus the Teacher – a new Mass setting composed by Head Teacher, Mr Young, and dedicated to pupils and staff of Cathedral Primary, past and present. Sung by the school’s choir, the music added a deeply personal and moving element to the celebration.

Following the Mass, historic stones from the school’s original 1895 building were formally dedicated in their new location within the Cathedral grounds. Guests then visited a fascinating exhibition in St Bride’s Hall, curated by Primary 7 pupils, which traces the proud history of the school from 1875 to the present day.

Provost Kenneth Duffy, who attended the Mass, said: “This was a truly special celebration, and expertly organised by Mr Young and his staff, of a school that has played a central role in the Motherwell community for generations. My warmest congratulations go to the entire school community, past and present, on 150 years of faith, learning, and service.”

The sun shone for our parish community’s First Holy Communions on Saturday 17th May when 41 Cathedral pupils received Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time.

The cathedral was packed for the special Mass, celebrated by Fr Lamb, and the choir led the music beautifully. Each liturgy finished with the children singing their thanksgiving hymn, ‘Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all’, followed by the entire congregation lifting the roof with ‘Hail, Redeemer, King Divine’.

Many congratulations to all of the children who received their First Holy Communion and many thanks to their parents, families and teachers for preparing them for the sacrament. We keep the boys and girls in our prayers as they continue on their faith journey.

Following a positive inspection week, Cathedral learners and staff got out into the sunshine on Friday 16th May to relax after a busy few days. As the inspection report will now go through a scrupulous quality assurance process at Education Scotland before being finalised and published, Mr Young is unable to provide specific details or potential grades to pupils, parents/carers or even school staff. This rigorous process also means it is unlikely the report will be published before the summer holidays. What Mr Young can say, however, is how hugely proud he is of Cathedral’s committed and hard-working staff and Cathedral’s PHENOMENAL learners who shone like stars throughout inspection week. He’s the luckiest and proudest Head Teacher in the land!

The sun shone throughout the week beginning 12th May and our third group of nursery learners enjoyed their first session in Cathedral’s forest area. Our outdoor explorers enjoyed the freedom to learn in the natural environment at their own pace and were very excited to be joined by Primary 5 pupils, who will be next year’s nursery buddies. Once back in the nursery, the children drew fabulous pictures in the floorbook capturing the exciting learning they’d enjoyed on their first day in the forest.

As part of their current topic on mini-beasts, these Primary 2 learners had great fun in Cathedral’s playzone on Thursday 15th May making their very own bee keeper outfits. After some careful planning, designing, cutting, painting and sticking, our young learners donned their fabulous outfits and buzzed along to Mr Young’s office to show them off. Fab-BEE-lous!

These Primary 7 learners worked together to make a fantastic life-size Anderson shelter on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th May. They used and developed a wide range of skills during the two-day project including collaborating, designing, planning, predicting, persevering, modifying, constructing, organising, solving and adapting. As you can see, even Miss Cameron and Mrs Shevlin were eager to try out the shelter!

Great Cathedral teamwork, Primary 7!