Order of Service

For this year’s services, we are trialling a new approach. To help us deliver a more environmentally friendly service and to help better support pupils with special educational needs, we are going paper-free.

This means that printed orders of service will no longer be available. Children will be encouraged to follow the service via the screens and to engage with those leading the service, as much as possible.

To help you talk through the service in advance, details of the order of service can be seen below with links to the relevant songs and prayers/readings.

We understand that some children do benefit from having an order of service. However, it is difficult for us centrally to provide something that meets each individual need. Therefore, a Word document with all the details of the service is provided for download and adaption by schools.

If you feel you have a pupil who needs a printed version of the order of service, please download the text and adapt it as necessary (eg larger font, different coloured fonts etc) so you can bring it along with you. We will not have copies available. It will be the responsibility of each school to ensure they have the relevant order of service available,

We will review this new approach after the services. Please look out for feedback opportunities via the DEN, so we can continue to develop our services for all.

Downloadable version of the Order of Service (MS Word)

Leavers’ Service 2026 | Gloucester Cathedral | Tuesday 9 June, Wednesday 10 June and Thursday 11 June 2026

Welcome to this special service in which we say thank you to God for our schools and for one another. As you leave your Church of England school, we hope you’ve had a good time and discovered more about the world, who you are and how much God loves you.

During the service look around you. Gloucester Cathedral has stood in the centre of Gloucester for hundreds and hundreds of years and reminds us that even when things in life change, God’s love does not change. Even though you are leaving the school to which you have belonged, God is not leaving you. You still belong to God who loves you and wants each of us to know Jesus Christ as our friend.

The school you are leaving not only has a name, but it probably has a badge or a uniform which shows that you belong to that school. As you join your new school, we wonder what badge or symbol you will have to show that you belong? Today you will be given a cross which is the sign used by friends of Jesus Christ as a sign of their belonging. If you have been baptised (also known as being christened) you will have been marked with the sign of the cross. We hope you have heard about Jesus and the cross at your primary school.

You might like to keep the cross you are given today in your pocket or bag. It’s called a holding cross not just because you can hold it but also because it reminds us of Jesus Christ and his love which can hold us even when life is difficult or sad.

In this service you will be thinking about what it means to belong to your school, the family of God and the world.

We hope you enjoy the service today – we are praying that it is a special time for every one of you because every one of you is special.

With our good wishes and prayers,

The Rt Revd Rachel Treweek Bishop of Gloucester and The Rt Revd Robert Springett Bishop of Tewkesbury

—

Welcome

We have come together in the presence of God,
To tell our stories
To sing our songs
And to step into the future in faith.

The Lord be with you
ALL: And also with you.

Clergy talk to pupils

ALL STAND

Opening song – the Lord’s my shepherd (Psalm 23) – and Procession of the School Banners

ALL SIT

Opening prayer
If you would like to make that prayer your own, please feel free to say ‘Amen’ at the end.

Loving God
As these banners remind us of who we are
And all we have shared
Give us thankful hearts for the past
And courage for the future
And as we go on to new beginnings
Keep us in your care and guide us in your ways;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

First reading – taken from a letter sent from St Paul to a group of Christians living in a place called Philippi in Greece.

This is the word of the Lord.

ALL: Thanks be to God.

Barrie Voyce, Youth Connector and Jessica from iSingPop talk about the reading.

ALL STAND

Song: Glow

ALL SIT

Barry and Jessica continue followed by A Bible Story from Bob Hartman, Storyteller and Author

Prayers
Pupil Readers

ALL STAND

Song: This Is Our World

ALL SIT

Presentation and Blessing of Holding Crosses
Diocesan Director of Education, Jane Borgeaud, and Clergy

ALL STAND

Prayer and Procession of Candles
Clergy and pupil candle bearers

Song: Lighting Up The World

Commissioning Promises
ADULTS STAND CHILDREN SIT

Jesus said that we should all come to the Kingdom of God like a child:

Teachers and staff, will you support, cherish and pray for all children in your care, especially the leavers here today, that they join their new school family with confidence and love?

ADULTS: we will

ADULTS SIT CHILDREN STAND

Jesus asked us to love one another as he loves us.

Children, as you journey together, will you remember all that you have learnt that is good, helpful and true?

CHILDREN: we will

Jesus said that we should love our neighbours as ourselves

Children, as you journey together, will you treasure all that you have discovered about friendship, kindness, patience and compassion?

CHILDREN: we will

Jesus said that we should let our lights shine:

Children, as you journey together, will you use your talents and skills to help others and be part of God’s family?

CHILDREN: we will

In the Psalms we read that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it: