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Friends'
School Saffron Walden
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The
Quaker Pilgrimage
September 2001 |
 |
|
Friends'
School Saffron Walden
|
The
Quaker Pilgrimage
September 2001 |
|
The sixth form students at Friends' School Saffron Walden are given the opportunity each year to take part in the Quaker Schools Pilgrimage. This is an annual event to allow them to explore the origins of Quakerism in the North West of England, just south of the Lake District.
5 students from Friends' School, accompanied by John Searle-Barnes, a senior teacher at the school, joined similar groups from other Friends' Schools.
The visit was based at an Old Meeting House in Yealand Conyers, near Carnforth, and trips were organised to places which hold special significance in the early history of the Society of Friends. Notable amongst these were Swarthmoor Hall where George Fox lived, and Pendle Hill and Firbank Fell where he began his ministry.
The Quaker Pilgrimage gave the students time to reflect on the direction of their lives, particularly at the point of leaving school and choosing university courses. In effect, the trip was a sort of retreat; a weekend away from humdrum living when there was space to reflect on what is really important in life.
