Schools come together for the Living Hope Conference 2026

Around 100 teachers and leaders from schools across the Diocese gathered together on Wednesday 24th June at Nottingham Trent University’s Clifton campus to encourage one another and spend time hearing inspiring talks about faith in schools.

The conference started with worship led by Bluecoat Aspley students, which included a choreographed performance called From Brokenness to Hope. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room!

The day included a keynote talk from experienced educator Paul Rusby on spiritually flourishing schools, inspiring worship from students at Bluecoat Aspley and opportunities to spend time together in friendship, encouragement and support.

Diocesan Director of Education, Nigel Frith, was encouraged by the conference and said, “Living Hope ’26 brought together a range of leaders from church schools and trusts across the diocese. Together we explored the importance of faith and spirituality, linking vision to lived reality and developing our commitment to the flourishing of all.”

Tying into the themes of the conference, Louisa Newton (Diocesan Christian Distinctiveness & SIAMS Lead), presented a talk on engaging with faith in schools that featured the story of a Youth Alpha course run in one of our local primary schools thanks to the vision of one of the school’s students and the willingness of both the school and local churches to participate. You can watch a video telling the story and testimonies of this Youth Alpha course below.

For more information about the work we do with schools and academies, take a look at the information on our website.