We are proud to be a diverse college community and we ‘welcome students and staff of all faiths, and those of none.’ The Chaplaincy is open for all students to get involved and provides the Faith Ambassador programme for any students wishing to act as an advocate for their faith. As well as the Chapel, there is also a multi-faith room which is open from 12.05pm-2pm Monday to Thursday and 12.05pm-12.40pm on a Friday for students and staff of any faith to use.
The Core R.E. programme is inclusive of all religions and students are actively encouraged to share their experiences of faith with their class, where appropriate. Most R.E. lessons include references to various religions and there is a dedicated module to world religions in the second year of the R.E. programme.
Our 4C charities group also includes an annual Ramadan fundraiser, giving Muslim students an opportunity to raise money and celebrate the holy obligation of zakat (charity) during their college experience. Events have included the preparation and selling of iftar (breaking of fast) packs and henna hand painting.
Each year the College celebrates Interfaith Week which involves our Faith Ambassadors taking part in Bury’s annual Interfaith Forum event where local representatives of faith talk to school children about the importance of interfaith dialogue. We also have an annual visit to a place of worship; in 2022 we visited Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sikh Gurdwara, Manchester, and in 2023 we visited Khizra Mosque, Bury. Our Interfaith work is also supported by our staff EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) Ambassador for Religion and Belief.
We take the words and example of Pope Francis as inspiration. He says that “…to build cities and countries that, even preserving their respective cultural and religious identities, are open to differences and know how to see their value" as part of a sign of human fraternity. (Pope Francis 2019)