King’s Bolton students learn about religion in annual ‘Faith Trail’

Key Stage 3 students from King’s Leadership Academy Bolton recently took part in the school’s annual ‘Faith Trail’, organised by Netesha Butt, Associate SLT (Character & Diversity) and Lead Practitioner of Religious Studies.

The students were given the opportunity to visit a Vihara (Buddhist monastery) and a Synagogue (Jewish temple), in order to further embed the knowledge acquired in the classroom. During the visit to the Vihara, students engaged in a Q&A session with a Sri Lankan monk, which gave them a valuable insight into life as a monk and the symbiotic relationship between monk and lay.

Students also participated in a non-religious meditation workshop and discussed the benefits of meditation as well as the similarities between meditation and other religious practices.

The students also received a tour of a Synagogue and took part in a range of exciting, interactive workshops. Netesha explains that lots of similarities were drawn between Jewish and Muslim practices, which is a “great way to build and develop interfaith relations and address misconceptions.”

All in all this was a highly valuable experience for the academy’s students, and in Netesha’s words was a great opportunity to “engage in invaluable interfaith dialogue.”