Church and Community
Our Church
We are a church school which originated at St James’ Church in Thornton, Bradford. We welcome many visitors from St James’ Church who come to visit us and speak and sing in our assemblies.
Some of us sing in the choir at Bradford Cathedral for a special carol concert at Christmas Time.
Every year our choir sings at St James’ Church to start their Christmas Fair and we enjoy participating in their Christmas Tree Festival.
Not everyone in our school is a Christians, however each classroom has its own prayer table. We learn about all religions and how they are similar and different to Christianity. It helps us to understand other people’s beliefs and traditions.
Our Community
At the Academy St James we place great importance on trying to work with and support the community in which we are lucky enough to serve. Our core values of:
shape our daily work and this is all driven by our desire to work with and support our local community.
Over the years we have created a variety of community events such as:
Mothers Day Tea
Christmas Extravaganza
Summer Fair
and we work with local organisations such as nursing homes, support groups and community cafes.
Charities we support
We regularly have non-uniform day's to raise money for both local and national charities. Giving is one of the 5 steps of mental wellbeing and by holding these day's it teaches our pupils of it's value.
5 steps of mental wellbeing | NHS
In the past we've supported the following amazing causes along with many others:
Mental Health Awareness | Mind
Tree Festival
Each year, St James Church in Thornton holds a Christmas tree festival for local community groups to raise money to support their work or the work of others.
At Christmas 2025 our school supported the Red Sky Foundation in memory of one of our students who sadly passed away during 2025.
As a school we continue to support this amazing charity to help bring hope to others.
