UPDATE ON THE BISHOP'S VISIT TO HOLY TRINITY
The Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, made his first visit to Holy Trinity, Barnsley, on Monday to view the school and meet the pupils.
As well as meeting members of Holy Trinity’s School Council and joining in a number of classes throughout the visit, the Bishop also led a reflection for the school’s minute of silence at 11am to remember the victims of the Paris terror attacks on Friday.
Head teacher of Holy Trinity, Mr Simon Barber, says, "The Bishop's visit went very well.
“He visited lots of classes and met lots of pupils and staff just as we planned.”
Mr Barber continues, “Everyone enjoyed seeing him very much.
“I think he enjoyed it too and we hope he will visit again soon.”
BISHOP NICK TO MAKE HIS FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND'S ONLY CATHOLIC AND CHURCH OF ENGLAND 3 - 16 THROUGH SCHOOL IN BARNSLEY ON MONDAY
The Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, will be making his first visit to Holy Trinity, Barnsley, on Monday to view the school and meet the pupils.
Holy Trinity is the only Catholic and Church of England 3-16 through school in the country and the visit will be the Bishop’s first since the school opened in its new building in 2012.
Mr Simon Barber, Holy Trinity’s Headteacher, says, “We are part of the Wakefield Area of the Diocese and see Bishop Tony regularly.
“We have invited Bishop Nick as our Diocesan Bishop to come and see our school for the first time, to meet some of our pupils and to have a look round our classrooms and facilities as well as hopefully to join in with some lessons.”
As both a Catholic and Church of England school this means that while it is part of the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales, the school is also part of the Catholic Diocese of Hallam.
Mr Barber says, “The Bishop will be visiting us for the first time to see our school and get to know some of our pupils and staff.
“He will meet some members of our School Council and a group of pupils who recently travelled to Romania to support a charity called Cry in the Dark – Bishop Nick’s wife made a stained glass window for this charity recently.
“The pupils’ visit to Romania supported their work for the Archbishop of York’s Young Leaders Award which is an award scheme we enthusiastically follow.
Indeed, in the school’s first year the Award was introduced as it teaches young people about faith heroes - people who have done amazing things for others as a result of their faith.
The Award challenges young people to ‘be the change they want to see’ in their local community and, as a result, the school has raised over £2000 for the Barnsley Hospice, over £2000 for BRAC - a charity in Tanzania which provides goats for villages, and has distributed fleeces to the old and vulnerable across Barnsley.
The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, recognised the work of Holy Trinity in 2014 and presented the school with an icon of the Holy Trinity to go in the school chapel.
Headteacher Simon Barber is passionate about developing the relationship between churches and schools and has brought his experiences in the role of lay canon for Wakefield Cathedral, which he has held since 2013, to his role as Headteacher.
In an interview with AWAKE, the quarterly magazine from the former Wakefield Diocese, in 2013, Mr Barber explained, “Holy Trinity plays an important role in the town of Barnsley.
“We are most children’s experience of what church is today; prayerful, service to others, contemplation.
“It’s a role I take seriously, both in the classroom and outside.”
Holy Trinity teaches children between the ages of 3 and 16 and places a high value on pastoral care.
The school also has a range of facilities for the pupils to use, including those for engineering, performance halls with theatre quality sound and lighting, three floodlit outdoor multi-use games areas and a fully equipped fitness suite.
This has allowed Holy Trinity to develop a relationship with those in the local community through providing meeting spaces and sporting areas and equipment for many community groups in Barnsley.
In 2014 Mr Barber said, “We are building something special at Holy Trinity that will enable our young people to have the very best start in life -They deserve nothing less.
“Our first year has set the bar very high, we will look to build on this in the years to come and create a school about which the whole of Barnsley can feel very proud of.”
In regards to Bishop Nick’s upcoming visit, Mr Barber mentions, “We are very pleased the Bishop is able to join us.
“We hope his visit will raise his profile within our school and that it is the first of many visits in the future.”