The spiritual and religious life of the school are enhanced through:

• Mass
• Retreats
• Weekly Liturgies (assemblies)
• Prayer
• Saints
• The Common Good
• Reconciliation
• Charitable events particularly during Advent and Lent. 

In all these things, there is an awareness of God’s Presence and Jesus accompanying us on our journey of life. 

There is a well-established group of students, ‘St Aloysius Apostles’, who help with the running of the Chaplaincy.  They write the bidding prayers for the Year Masses, organise events and raise funds for the School charities, help decorate the school with posters and other materials to promote events, the Rosary and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (during Advent and Lent).

Our retreats follow the tradition of Jesus himself, who had a consistent pattern in his life, as shown in the Gospels, as making out time to be by himself. There are times he also invited his disciples to go to a lonely place and be by themselves. We follow this tradition by creating a time for each year group, in the calendar year, to be by themselves. During this time, they reflect on a theme we judge to be very important to them. Through reflections, prayers, activities, and discussions, we enable them to deepen their understanding and consciousness of the chosen theme. It is also hoped that this reflection will generate and renew a favourable attitude and approach to life.
Towards this end, our Year 7 had their Retreat Day on the 28th of November. It had the theme of community. As members of a new community, we thought it was very important for them to reflect on this theme, to reorientate themselves with the importance of upholding our commonly held community values. The obvious aim was to build a sense of community and
encourage positive and active membership.
Our Year 8 had their retreat day on 30th of November on the theme of Friendship, a Gospel value that is at the heart of the categorical imperative to love your neighbour as yourself. We reflected on our global connection as a human family and our shared responsibility to care for each other.
The Year 9s had their retreat on the 29th of February on the theme of Justice and Peace, which is another important focus of our Catholic ethos as a school. Year 10 had preceded two days earlier, on the 27th, with the theme of Choices - important for them at the stage of their school life. Year 11 had theirs on the 6th of February, Year 12 on the 19th of March, and Year 13's was earlier, on the 8th of February.

Year 7 September 2019
Year 8 October 2019
Year 9 JANUARY 2020

Our Patron Saint is St Aloysius Gonzaga. You can find out more about St Aloysius here.

We have have six further adopted Saints; St Peter, St John Paull II, St Martin de Porres, Thomas Aquinas, and St Jean-Baptiste De La Salle. These saints were thoughtfully chosen by our students.

Below is a summary of each of our Saints, which is also displayed prominently throughout our school. 

As a school, we are fully engaged with the Common Good and endeavour to support local, national and global causes all year round. We focus particularly intently on charitable efforts during liturgical almsgiving seasons of Advent and Lent, where each year group is tasked with organising fundraising events for their designated charity.

Foodbank

Our school is fully engaged with St Gabriel’s Foodbank initiative. We have been working with the Foodbank for ten years, supporting them in their amazing work of providing local families in crisis with essential items. St Gabriel's Community Centre offers assistance to homeless people, disadvantaged families and the elderly in our local area. The Community Centre works together with St Gabriel’s Church to offer breakfast seven days a week all year round to people sleeping rough in the area of Archway. Volunteers also provide hot dinners during the week and serve a Christmas lunch for people who are on their own and the homeless. Our parents, staff and students are continuously generous in their giving towards this worthwhile cause.

We encourage students to simply bring in one of the items on the monthly shopping list and drop it off at the Chaplain’s office. These items are usually basic food, toiletries, and household products. 

We make a particular effort during Advent, creating many joy-bringing Christmas Hampers. Form groups compete to create the 'most plentiful' hamper donated to St Gabriel's.

Advent 2020
Advent 2019
Advent 2018	Click here for our video of the Christmas Hampers donated in 2018!

Advent 2019

During Advent students and staff raised over £1900 and gathered donations for World Gifts (CAFOD), The Catholic Children's Society, The Passage, and St Gabriel's food bank collection. 

Year 7 students raised £308 for CAFOD World Gifts 'The Goat that gives‘, This means that Year 7 provided communities and families with in rural areas with 11 goats, which can provide a family with up to 12 pints of milk a week each! The goats also produce free fertiliser which families and communities can use to help grow crops.

Year 8 students raised £640 for CAFOD World Gifts 'Fabulous Footballs/Kits‘, through a range of innovative and fun fundraising events including a competitive bleep test! This incredible sum will provide 64 sets of footballs, kits and training for young people in poor urban areas, which can provide them with a sense of community and a positive alternative to prolific crime and gangs.

Year 9 students raised £460 for CAFOD World Gifts 'Fantastic Fish‘ by organising many fundraising events including a bake sale and an interform football match. The funds raised by year 9 CAFOD provides 23 communities with batches of 500 fish, an incredible 11500 fish in total! The communities are also provided with tools and training needed to build a pond and maintain a fish farm, which means they will not only have a source of nourishment, but also be able to build an income and business.

Years 10 & 11 bought presents and toiletries for The Catholic Children's Society, whilst also raising an extra £259.23 to donate. The items and funds raised went to disadvantaged children and families in and around London. We particularly hope the gifts of toys and children's books brought some joy to children in need over the Christmas period.

Years 12 & 13 raised funds for The Passage and purchased items for the homeless in London. Their Christmas Quiz fundraising event was a huge success and well attended by students and staff!

Deanery Churches in the Borough of Islington

The Year of Prayer

In preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year, 2024 has been designated a Year of Prayer by Pope Francis. We have incorporated the spirit of this call into our school’s life by consciously sharpening our prayer life as a community. We have acquired the necessary resources and set up structures to help promote and remind members of our school community of the centrality of both individual prayer and community prayer.