Year 7 pupils from Alderley Edge School for Girls visited the Gita Bhavan Hindu Temple in Manchester earlier this month, as a part of their Religion and Philosophy course. The visit provided a great insight to support their study of the Hindu faith.
The girls were welcomed at the temple by Mr Sharma who told the girls all about Hindu beliefs and the local Hindu community who worship there.
Whilst at the temple, the girls worked through a work booklet which helped them to focus on the key features of the Temple and the aspects of worship which they could observe.
It also encouraged them to think about the atmosphere of the Temple and how the symbols and images around them reflected different beliefs within Hinduism.
Mrs Goff, Headmistress at the school said: “Visiting the temple was a wonderful opportunity for the girls to experience places of worship first hand and to learn more about world faiths. This leads to an increased sense of tolerance, understanding and acceptance which are key in our world today.”
As well as an informative talk, the girls had time to sit and draw some of the beautiful patterns, statues and images within the Temple.
They also had the opportunity to ask questions and Mr Sharma commented that he was very impressed by the girls’ impeccable behaviour and the searching, thoughtful questions that were asked.
Head of Religion and Philosophy at the school, Ms Laing commented: “Whilst Alderley Edge School for Girls is a Christian foundation school, girls of all faiths and those with none are welcome to study at the school.
“We have a great tradition of respecting our different faiths and celebrating our common values and find that visiting places of worship is a key way of helping the girls to further develop their understanding and respect for the beliefs of others. We had a wonderful day and look forward to repeating the visit next year.”
