A PILGRIMAGE to help teenagers to cross the threshold into adult life with confidence is being trialled at a church academy, in collaboration with cathedrals across the north-west.

Ten students from the Academy of St Francis of Assisi, in Liverpool, a joint Church of England and Roman Catholic school, will take part in day-long retreats at Liverpool, Liverpool Metropolitan, Chester, St Asaph, and Bangor Cathedrals.

The two-year project will culminate with a week-long pilgrimage along the North Wales pilgrims trail.

The project is being led by an artist and theologian-in-residence at Chester Cathedral, Claire Henderson Davis. It aims to help teenagers to address issues such as separation from parents, their hopes and expectations for the future, and relationships and vocation.

“The idea for the Pilgrimage into Adult Life project came after tutoring the son of a friend over the last two years of his sixth form, and remembering what a difficult stage of life this is, with big decisions to make about the future,” Ms Davis said.

The head of school at the academy of St Francis of Assisi, Tracey Greenough, said that the project would help students to work together and offer each other support at a time of important change in their lives.

“The transition from school into adult life can be difficult; that’s why we ensure guidance is in place at [the academy] to guarantee that, when our students leave us, they feel confident about their futures,” she said.