Quaker Schools’ Week 2026 – Peace Begins With Us

This week The Mount celebrated Quaker Schools’ Week, reflecting on the theme ‘peace begins with us’.

Throughout the week, our pupils have had the opportunity to think about what peace means to them and how each of us can contribute to creating a kinder, more understanding and peaceful community.

For our pupils, the theme became a personal opportunity to reflect on the many different ways that peace can be understood. Peace is not simply the absence of conflict; it can also be found in kindness, listening to others, showing respect, forgiving, including others and taking the time to understand different perspectives.

As part of our activities, pupils created their own “peace leaves”, each one carrying a personal message about what peace means to them. Their words reflected the things that matter to them and the ways in which they believe we can make a positive difference in our school and wider community.

The week culminated in a special Quaker Meeting, where pupils had the opportunity to share their reflections and read their peace messages aloud. It was particularly special to welcome their parents, who joined us for the Meeting and heard directly from the children about what peace means to them.

In our Meeting, one Year 6 pupil read a thought-provoking speech:

“In today’s Quaker Meeting, we heard that peace can mean different things to different people.

It can be something we experience and feel.
It can be something we create within our friendships.
And it can be something we work towards in our communities and across the world.