CHESTER Cathedral’s education department is appealing for help to be able to continue supporting schools in the area.

Staff are always trying to raise awareness of the work done by the education team, and each year hundreds of visits to the cathedral are arranged for children aged from three to 18, as well as occasional student visits from the University of Chester.

Canon Jane Brooke, who oversees the cathedral’s education department along with Nicola Preston, said: “We want to welcome children and young people of all ages to sit, reflect, learn and experience the atmosphere of the cathedral.

“More volunteers are always welcome because without them the work could not take place, however, due to the successful visits in the cathedral, more and more schools are coming and the work is slowly increasing.

She said: “There are now more children visiting than ever before and the ideas and activities for the schools build on the work of previous dedicated education officers, who worked very hard to make the cathedral an attractive and educational experience for schools.

“To enable the role of the education officer to be able to continue, Chester Cathedral Chapter has set up an Education Trust which will focus on applying for new occasional funds to, for example, support some schools which can’t afford transport to the cathedral but would like a school visit.

“In the future, we hope to expand and be able to offer more creative projects.”

The Education Trust is aiming to establish an endowment fund of at least £1m to keep the education department going.

Some of the activities schools can take part in include making candles, artwork or activities directly related to the cathedral.

There are also family activities offered during the holidays, such as making key-rings, bookmarks and completing cathedral trails as well as sixth form and GCSE workshops.

Exhibitions are carefully planned by the education department to involve the community and local schools.

If you want to make a specific legacy or a donation to the education department, cheques can be made payable to ‘Chester Cathedral’, and mark the envelope ‘Education Trust for the attention of Canon Jane Brooke’ and post it to 12 Abbey Square, Chester CH1 2HU. For details, contact Nicola Preston at nicola.preston@chestercathedral.com or Canon Jane Brooke on scrolls2@btinternet.com.