Bishop blesses new £1.8m school building and holds special service in new chapel
St Wilfrid’s RC College, in South Shields, welcomed Bishop Seamus Cunningham to bless its new £1.8m block of six classrooms, a new chapel and dining room extension. The school is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust.
Blessing
St Wilfrid’s RC College received a visit by Canon William Agley and Father Jonathan Bowes from St Bede’s in South Shields and two Sisters of Mercy, Sr M Josepha and Sr M Francis, all of whom were “wowed” by the new facilities, according to executive Head Teacher Francesca Craik.
Mrs Craik said the new extension was a wonderful addition to the popular school:
“Having these extremely important visitors to our school has been a real highlight for us. The Bishop has blessed our new building and held a service in our new chapel, which is beautiful and really celebrates our Catholic ethos. It’s a real investment and something that will be part of our legacy to the school, as it will be there to serve many generations of students and staff at St Wilfrid’s as a permanent installation.”
The beautiful new Chapel has been adorned in the school’s forest green colours. It includes stained glass effect windows, one depicting the Sacred Heart of Jesus, one depicting St Wilfrid and one of Our Lady Mary, mother of Jesus. It includes fixtures from well-known church furnishings company Hayes and Finch.
It’s a very special place for both staff and students. Their new block, which has been named the Saint John Henry Newman Block, has also given them six additional classrooms, a dining room extension, a wildlife corridor and a pond.
The school noted that the extension is an environmentally friendly and sustainable area, with plans for a garden kitchen. The roof on the new building is a seed and grass roof for wildlife and reflects the schools commitment to the environment and sustainability. A large picture of Saint John Henry Newman has been installed in the block, celebrating the most recent canonised English person, who was made a Saint in 2019.
Mrs Craik explained the block is now the new home of the RE department and has also created additional capacity for its growing number of students. She added:
“We had a brand new build four years ago, which included a new area for science, technology and maths. As we are a Catholic school, we wanted to give prominence to our Catholic life and mission in the new building, by putting Christ at the centre of the school.”
Mrs Craik says the block has already become really popular with students, who are enjoying the wonderful new facilities. Part of it includes a showcase cookery area.
“The hope is we will be able to have a school YouTube channel, where one of our chefs can demonstrate cooking on a budget and how to feed a family for a fiver and we can live stream from there.”
For more information on St Wilfrid’s RC College, visit www.st-wilfrids.org/
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