How good and pleasant it is, when God’s people

live together in unity!

(Psalm 133 verse 1)

St Margaret’s CE Junior School is a strong Christian community where all unite and flourish. Our family is guided by God’s teachings of love, courage, hope and service, enabling everyone to thrive as happy and fulfilled individuals. Ignited by God’s Spirit, our children shine as a light in the world.

St Margaret’s CE Junior School is federated with Briar Hill Infant School. Our St Margaret’s Christian vision reflects the strong partnership that we value and hold with Briar Hill, aligning with and enhancing our Federation vision:

Flourish as a family,

Make memories,

Love to learn,

Shine!

Our Christian vision was chosen by members of the school and church community in context with our school and local community’s multi-faith, non-faith, multi-cultural demographic. School leaders see the forging of productive and effective partnerships and the building and sustaining of positive relationships between all stakeholders and wider communities as paramount in enabling all members of the school community to flourish. Plus, enabling children and adults to speak out against issues of injustice and act courageously on behalf of those whose voice is not heard. Verse 1 of Psalm 133 represents this vision, driving all decision making and so enabling the children at St Margaret’s to shine as a light in the world.

What is a Psalm? 

Psalms are like songs or poems. Some of the Psalms

in the Book of Psalms are attributed to being written

by King David of Israel.

King David of Israel

David, (flourished c. 1000 bce), second king of ancient Israel.

He founded the Judaean dynasty and united all the tribes of

Israel under a single monarch. David is an important figure

in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam … The Psalms are also

attributed to him, a tribute to his legendary skill as a poet

and hymnodist.

(ref: Britannica.com)

The link between King David and the importance of unity

amongst God’s people is clearly stated in verse 1 of Psalm 133.

Why Psalms?

Psalms show us that prayer can take a variety of forms, in this case, a song. They offer a joyful structure for Christians to rejoice in prayer and song to praise God. The Psalms envision a world in which everyone and everything will praise God and, in turn, Christians believe that God will hear their prayers and respond.

Some of the psalms in the Book of Psalms are attributed to

King David. Psalm 133 is one of the ‘Songs of Ascent’ psalms, which are a special group of psalms also called Pilgrim Songs. It is believed by some that Jews, including Jewish priests, traveling to Jerusalem for one of the three main annual Jewish festivals traditionally sang these songs on the “ascent” or the uphill road to the city of Jerusalem, with the theme of each Song of Ascent offering them encouragement, as they still do for many Christians today.

Why did we choose Psalm 133 v1 as our Christian Vision?

At St Margaret’s we love to sing! We are really very good at it; particularly our St Margaret’s children who sing harmoniously together. Some people in our school community love to sing in worship and others just love to sing for the love of singing and the sense of family that it invokes when we all sing together.

Singing makes us feel good, because it releases endorphins which promote positive feelings. This is especially true when we sing with other people. Group and choral singing can induce the production of oxytocin (the bonding hormone), strengthening our sense of being part of something bigger – a loving church school community. Group singing unites us as a school family. It makes us feel like we are creating something special together and heightens our awareness of our own spirituality.

Singing can reduce stress and anxiety, as well as increase feelings of trust and well-being, impacting positively on every child and adult, especially the most vulnerable members of the community. Opportunities for singing include collective worship, church services, music lessons, choir and Young Voices clubs, school productions and, wherever we can, squeezing a song into any area of the curriculum to embed knowledge and to raise the spirits!

Singing helps form happy memories of times together at St Margaret’s for children, staff, parents and visitors alike. Visitors to our school have commented on the goose bumps and uplifting warmth that they feel when hearing the children sing, particularly during collective worship.

Families have favourite songs which unite the family and make them feel a special connection to each other. Hence, school staff, children, church representatives, governors and parents were drawn to select part of a Psalm to unite our St Margaret’s family as the most relevant Christian vision for our school. Psalm 133 verse 1 resonated with us the most.

How good and pleasant it is, when God’s people live together in unity!

Psalm 133 verse 1

Synonyms for ‘pleasant’ include: lovely, gracious, charming, refreshing and satisfying. These are adjectives that fill the mind with delight. For Christians, this delight is derived from their faith in God. For the children and adults within our multi-faith, non-faith, multi-cultural community, this means everyone being invited to flourish within a community where they all feel valued and respected.

The words ‘God’s people’ encompasses everyone, regardless of their faith or if they hold no religious faith. “Central to Christian theology is the truth that every single one of us is made in the image of God… Church of England schools offer a community where everyone is a person known and loved by God, supported to know their intrinsic value.” (‘Valuing All God’s Children’ – Church of England 2019)

The word ‘unity’ implies positive relationships between people and nations, but also spiritual unity. As a church school, holding Psalm 133 v1 as the thread through all we do, we encourage a harmonious and supportive ethos, where values of love, forgiveness and reconciliation, enable all children and adults to live life in all its fullness.

Psalm 133 is about the preciousness of family unity - togetherness.

In our Federation vision our opening statement is ‘Flourish as a family’. To us ‘family’ is not only our family at home, but encompasses our school family and our local and wider communities. This sense of being part of God’s big family is developed through all we do, underpinned by our Christian vision.

St Margaret’s Junior School is a place where everyone, children and adults of any faith, or none, are loved, cared for, respected and encouraged to be their best self. To support us in living out our Christian vision, our associated Christian values of love, courage, hope and service, are tools enabling everyone to thrive as happy and fulfilled individuals.

We work and live together in unity as a strong Christian community to enable all God’s children to flourish. Ignited by God’s Spirit, our children shine as a light in the world.

How good and pleasant it is, when God’s people live together in unity!

Psalm 133 verse 1