The highlight of our anniversary celebrations has been the special celebratory service uniting staff, students and governors - past and present - of Liverpool's two Notre Dame schools in the chapel at Liverpool Hope University.

A member of staff who was invited to the service gives us her account of the day...

160 Years of Notre Dame in Liverpool

The Sun shone down on our journey as we made our way to Liverpool Hope University Chapel to celebrate and commemorate the work of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Liverpool on the very anniversary of the day they first arrived in the city. As we waited for our entrance to the chapel many familiar faces passed us on their way to the service.

Once we were all in our places the joint Masters of Ceremonies, Sally Green (St. Julie's Catholic High School) and Leila Gwynne (Notre Dame Catholic College for the Arts, Everton Valley) took charge of the proceedings. We started with our opening hymn "I the Lord of Sea and Sky" led by the choir of Notre Dame. Sister Pat Ellen Gribbin of the Notre Dame Provincial Leadership team welcomed everyone in her opening address. She paid special tribute to two special guests, both in their 90s, Sister Sybil, great niece of one of the first Notre Dame students and Miss Elizabeth (Bessie) Lunt, Deputy Head teacher of Notre Dame Mount Pleasant and then Notre Dame Woolton.

The service continued with a section of drama and music which was themed "Notre Dame in Liverpool, Then and Now". St. Julie's began this section with "Our Roots". This thought provoking drama took us back to the very day that the Sisters arrived in Liverpool to begin their Mission to educate the poor. The Chamber Choir of Notre Dame, Everton Valley, sang Mozart's "Ave Verum" and "You raise me up" to a video backdrop of old and new photographs of both schools and the training college which carried on the Then and Now theme. Everton Valley students then gave a drama presentation which recalled the founding of Notre Dame Everton Valley and recalled the teaching mission of the Sisters using extracts from diaries written at the time and currently held in the Notre Dame archives here in Liverpool.

Professor Gerald Pillay, Vice Chancellor of Liverpool Hope University, gave his address in which he congratulated all present for being part of the continuing mission. As a boy, Professor Pillay lived in South Africa under apartheid. He likened St. Julie's mission to one of Education for Liberation and saw the parallels in his own life and the sacrifices and beliefs of his parents about the importance of education in promoting social justice and change.

Dance students from St. Julie's treated us to their interpretation of "It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day" to highlight the hope for the future. This was followed by bidding prayers read by staff, students and governors past and present from both schools.

As the service drew to a close the Head Teachers to both schools made their personal commitment to continue the Notre Dame mission "Teach them what is necessary for life" and exchanged gifts between the two schools.

After the final blessing was given by Father Desmond Keegan C.Ss.R and the recessional hymn brought the service to a close, all those present were invited to the refectory for refreshments. The highlight was a splendid cake, a gift from Professor Pillay. Sister Sybil did the honours and cut the cake for us.

Everyone returned to school in high spirits after an inspiring afternoon which encouraged us to look with pride and gratitude at our past and look forward with hope, enthusiasm and joy to our future.

And we celebrated back at school as well!

Sadly, the capacity of the chapel meant that not every student was able to attend the celebratory service, but that didn't meant that they couldn't celebrate as well!

With a lot of planning and some very careful transportation we managed to get not one, not two, but forty four beautiful anniversary cakes to distribute around every student in the school!