St Mary de Haura – Church Life

Church Life

Members of St Mary's Church are currently involved in the following activities.

Sunday Group

The children's Sunday Group meets in St Mary's House, Shoreham-by-Sea on most Sundays of the year (except Family Services and some school holidays) during the 11.00 am Eucharist. The Group is run by Emma Ham-Riche, a qualified teacher, with the help and support of other parents. Between 8 and 15 children join in the Group on a Sunday morning, aged between 2–8 years old. Due to the large number of pre-school children, many children are accompanied by their parents.

Since September 2008, the Sunday Group has been using 'Searchlights', an all-age resource for Common Worship, which provides the children with activities that are closely linked to the Lectionary readings. The Group is establishing links with Irene Smale, the Children's Officer for Chichester Diocese.

Further information:

If you have children who may be interested in joining, please contact

Emma Ham-Riche

Telephone: 01273 452586

E-mail: sundaygroup@stmarydehaura.org.uk

Youth Zone

Our thriving youth group, Youth Zone, is run on behalf of St Mary's and St Nicolas's Churches for children in Year 5 and above. All children are welcome irrespective of which church they attend.

We meet on the second Saturday of every month at St Nicolas and St Mary School between 6.00–8.00 pm. We also have outings and charity fundraising activities throughout the year.

Youth Zone has a motto – 'Having Fun, Helping Others'. The emphasis of our club nights is very much on the children 'Having Fun' in a controlled environment while encouraging fellowship and teamwork.

We also aim to encourage the children to 'Help Others' both by helping each other in the activities and outings we arrange and in our charity fund raising. Youth Zone has raised over £3,900 for local charities in recent years.

Many activities are enjoyed at our club nights including football, badminton, table tennis, dodgeball, benchball and lots of other games and competitions. The children also enjoy many other activities including making sweets and pizzas, as well as fun trying karaoke and other quieter games. Games of Bingo are always popular.

Recently we have enjoyed trips to the theatre to see 'Joseph', Ten Pin Bowling, the Low Ropes course at Adur Outdoor Activities centre, and the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink at Christmas.

Further information:

For more information, please contact

Cliff Emberlin, Youth Zone Co-ordinator

Telephone: 01273 465645

St Nicolas and St Mary Primary School & Little Fishes Nursery

This popular and well-respected School is situated in Eastern Avenue, Shoreham-by-Sea. It is a Church of England Voluntary Aided School, maintained by the Diocese of Chichester and West Sussex County Council, and sponsored jointly by the churches of St Mary de Haura, New Shoreham and St Nicolas, Old Shoreham.

The school was delighted to be judged 'Outstanding' by Ofsted during their latest inspection in July 2010. Ofsted complimented the school on many aspects of its work including:

"Exceptionally caring Christian ethos"

"Exciting, creative and rich curriculum"

"Prepares pupils exceptionally well for their future lives"

The Vicar and several members of both churches serve as Foundation Governors, and the Admissions Policy gives priority to the children of regular worshippers. The clergy conduct School Eucharists and Assemblies at the school, and School Services also take place on occasion in St Mary's Church. It is the aim of the Governors, Headteacher and Staff that the school's Christian foundation should be evident in every area of school life, as expressed in its mission statement: 'Journey together – Guided by God – To do the best we can'.

The Little Fishes Nursery caters for children aged 3 and 4 years. Staff seek to encourage children's spiritual, moral, cultural and social development and there is a strong Christian ethos. During the Ofsted inspection the nursery was also graded as 'Outstanding':

"Children are happy, confident and eager to learn. They make significant gains in their learning through an exceptionally well planned mix of activities"

"Colourful and stimulating learning environment in the classrooms and outdoors"

"Strong and effective leadership... founded on expert knowledge of how young children learn and develop"

We warmly welcome visits to the Nursery and the School.