Invitation

From Karla Lowes
Educational Visits Coordinator at St Chad's Cathedral

School children and their teachers are invited to visit the Metropolitan Cathedral and Basilica of St Chad (St Chad's Cathedral) during the school year 2026/27. Bookings are now open.  

School visits have become an important part of life at the Cathedral, and we were delighted to welcome many schools back to the Cathedral during the last academic year. 

Our volunteer guides enjoy sharing their wealth of knowledge about the Cathedral and school visits encounter parts of the Cathedral rarely seen by the public. The guides also focus on the Sacraments, which will be of particular interest to Year 6 children due to be confirmed within the next 12 months.

St Chad’s is the first Catholic Cathedral erected in Great Britain in 1841 following the Reformation of the 16th Century.

It was designed by the great Gothic Revivalist Augustus Welby Pugin, who was also responsible for the Palaces of Westminster and the iconic clock tower of Big Ben.

The Cathedral is home to the relics of St Chad, which were originally interred in a shrine at Lichfield Cathedral in the year 672 AD. The Cathedral celebrated its centenary in 1941 and was designated a Minor Basilica by Pope Pius XII.

School visits take place on weekday mornings (Tuesday - Friday) from 9.45am, with most schools staying for the 12.15pm Mass. 

I am delighted to say visits continue to be an enormous success - the response from schools taking up the opportunity to visit during the last academic year was quite overwhelming - and we anticipate 2026/27 will be no different. 

Find out more about school visits and book

Or email [email protected]    

Please book early to avoid disappointment.

St Chad’s Cathedral website