It was a celebration for parents and families in the village of Honley and beyond when the Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines and local MP, Thelma Walker joined staff and children for an afternoon to mark the opening of their new school and day care facility.
With funding from the Government and the Local Education Authority, the two old schools of Honley Infants and Honley Juniors merged together into Honley CE (VC) Junior, Infant and Nursery School. It is now a voluntary controlled Church of England school with early education and childcare –delivered across two sites with its own new purpose-built day care facility for pre-school children too.
The head of the new school, Linda Goodall, said: “It is a privilege to be a headteacher here in this wonderful school. We had a lovely day together.”
The whole school turned out to celebrate its new building – starting with a service in St Mary’s Church with Key Stage 1 children and then across to the Jagger Lane site which is home to Years 3-6 before ambassador children from Year 6 gave Bishop Nick a tour of all three provisions and talked to him about their school – and wanted to know more about his mitre.
They sang the Honley songs which were written by schoolchildren with a verse for every year group and reflect the values of the school. The children also read a prayer for the new school from a book of prayers they have written together. Cakes and buns were the finale to the afternoon.
MP Thelma Walker said: "It’s clear that this school is a hub of the local community where staff and children alike are happy in their learning. The school is so warm, welcoming and creative. I can see that the merger of the Nursery, Infant and Junior school will lead to even greater achievements in the future.”
Pictured here is Bishop Nick with MP Thelma Walker, head teacher, Linda Goodall and the vicar of Honley, the Revd Liam Beedle.