Schoolchildren in Coventry have been joined by superheroes to help them learn about how they can also be a force for good ahead of a major faith milestone.

“All saints have origin stories” was the message to pupils from across the Romero Catholic Academy as more than 300 Year 3 pupils from across the city descended on Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School for a special celebration ahead of their first Holy Communion.

The sacred rite of passage, which children aged 7 to 8 mark in their local churches, is the first time they accept the bread and wine – also known as the Eucharist.

They even marked the first time children from all seven Romero Catholic Academy primary schools had been brought together to celebrate their first Holy Communion.

Pupils were treated to a hide and seek-inspired puzzle game, where they had to find all the superheroes – in the form of Cardinal Wiseman pupils in costume – hidden throughout the playground and uncover the letter associated with them.

Tom Scott Machin, Lay Chaplain at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, said: “Celebrations like this are a great opportunity to show we are part of an incredible school community, and I think it’s quite powerful to be able to bring so many young people together at this time in their lives.

“Today has been all about reminding the children that normal people are capable of achieving special things, with prayers, reflections and activities adding up to a day that I hope will stay with them for a long time.

“We wanted to bring everyone together to emphasise that we have an incredible community across our schools, and while faith can mean lots of things to lots of people, we are all part of something bigger than ourselves.”