ABSTRACT
We have seen in earlier chapters that the school assembly, often the first and only corporate experience of the day for all children, can have considerable power. In Rashda’s case (Chapter 2), the stress fell on reinforcement of the school as a caring community. This was true also of David’s assembly (Chapter 3) which, in addition, highlighted the significance of the individual within the group, via the impressive birthday-boy ritual. Lucy’s Roman Catholic school (Chapter 4) could assume a reasonable degree of acceptance of one particular Christian stance, and therefore could hold a full-scale mass for pupils, teachers and parents. In this instance, there was a community of faith in which worship was not inappropriate.
