Education Sunday falls on the second Sunday of September (8 September, in 2024) just as the new academic year starts and is one of the oldest Days of Special Prayer in England and Wales, established 176 years ago in 1848.

It provides an opportunity to celebrate and give thanks to all involved in making Catholic schools places of enlightenment, as well as to look forward in anticipation of the year ahead.

To help celebrate, the CES has provided a range of resources, downloadable at the bottom of this page:

• Guidance for schools and parishes
• A prayer card, offering a prayer of thanksgiving for teachers, and collection of suggested bidding prayers for school Masses
• A letter of support from the Right Reverend Marcus Stock, Bishop of Leeds and CES Chairman