Bags of Hope - 2025-2026 School Project

Every year our education team creates a project for C of E schools in Portsmouth and Winchester diocese to engage with, on a specific theme. This theme is then reflected in the annual Leavers' Services that take place in both cathedrals in July each year, when we say farewell to those who are leaving C of E primary schools. 

In previous years, these themes have included a focus on Jesus as the Good Shepherd, which involved pupils decorating life-size fibreglass sheep; on our heroes, which involved pupils creating special chairs for their heroes to sit on; and on the African concept of 'Ubuntu' which binds communities together; and more recently, Gamechangers, exploring how we can make a difference to the world and TriWonder, caring of our local environments.

For 2025-26, the theme is 'Bags of Hope' which focuses on ‘Displaced Persons’ from a range of backgrounds, contexts and countries. Our project logo is inspired by the book ‘The Suitcase’ by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros. We hope that over the year, adults, young people and children, repeatedly might ponder on the significance of a back pack for many migrants, when their whole ‘life’ is transported from very challenging situations.

Bags of Hope Booklet

Previous school projects

The material for previous projects created by our diocese's education team can be found and downloaded below. They may be useful in both schools and churches: