PENSIVE pupils sought solace in a chapel where they scribbled down wishes for the less fortunate.

Girls at St Helen and St Katharine in Abingdon embraced the annual "labyrinth" event, when the school's chapel is decorated with activities to provoke religious and personal contemplation.

Mike Holland, director of communications and development at the school in Faringdon Road, said: "The point was to give the girls an opportunity for reflection to think about other people around the world that are suffering. There were different topics each day, like 'how can God be good with so much suffering in the world?'

"It went down incredibly well, every break time and lunch time the chapel was absolutely packed. I would be surprised if every girl hadn't gone in. Having the chapel in the school does allow them to reflect, but we had concentrated activities for the entire week. There was a map of the world where they could post notes saying why they were praying for people. There was a huge chalk board for them to write messages to people who are no longer with us."

The girls, whose families are able to pay for the private school, impressed teachers with thoughtful words crammed onto the board like 'be kind and live in peace', 'pray for Beirut' and 'I pray everyone will be happy'.

Mr Holland added: "The things they wrote were very sweet, it made you realise that they know they are in a fortunate position. They do think about other people an awful lot. It wasn't just one or two messages, it was completely full - there was no space left."

Amongst the philosophical ponderings and Bible quotations were more light-hearted thanks and wishes, including 'come on Arsenal'.

The students, who range from nine-years-old to 18-years-old, have at least one class or assembly in the chapel every week.