24 March 2011

Two schools from the North West of England are celebrating their success as National winners of the first ever Church School Awards.

Bishop Bridgeman Church of England Primary School from Bolton and St Cuthbert's Catholic Community College for Business and Enterprise in Merseyside have been picked from a pool of 12 regional winners, to be honoured for  the significant difference they have made to local and global communities.

Church of England schools also won a number of the regional awards (see below).

The awards were announced at a gala event at Westminster Cathedral Hall today, hosted by Blue Peter's Andy Akinwolere.

The Church School Awards celebrate the best examples of local community work and global citizenship in England and Wales.  Pupils, staff and parents from the national and regional winners all impressed the judges with their passion for community issues, like the environment, Fairtrade and local fundraising, as well as their active involvement in worldwide initiatives, encouraging respect for different cultures and a sense of justice.

Schools Minister Lord Hill said:

"I am delighted to congratulate the regional and national winners of the first ever Church Awards on their superb work. These schools have demonstrated their commitment to respecting and supporting other young people around the world as well as in their own local community.

"Church schools make an important contribution to education in this country - not only in achieving good exam results, but also in nurturing young people to become real ambassadors for the ethos of their schools. It is wonderful to be able to celebrate this and see the links they have established in volunteering in local communities, fundraising for countries hit by disaster and building relationships with pupils around the world."

For more information about the national and regional winners, as well as the awards themselves, please go to www.churchschoolawards.com.

Notes

The awards have been established by a partnership between Christian recruitment agency, Emmaus Recruitment, along with the Church of England's National Society, the Catholic Association of Teachers, Schools and Colleges, Methodist Education, aid and development organisations like CAFOD and Christian Aid, and many other supporters.

The 2011 awards have received support from the following sponsors:

-          Tribune

-          XMA Ltd

-          Redemptorist Publications

-          COS Group

-          Mathletics

-          Dernier Publishing

The two national winners found out about their success during a surprise announcement at the ceremony.

Regional winners were:

North East Primary - St Alban's Catholic Primary school, Gateshead

North East Secondary - St Aidan's CE High School, Harrogate

North West Primary - Bishop Bridgeman CE Primary School, Bolton

North West Secondary - St Cuthbert's Catholic Community College for Business and Enterprise, Merseyside

Midlands & East Anglia Primary - Barwell CE Junior School, Leicester

Midlands & East Anglia Secondary - The Nottingham Emmanuel School

Wales and South West Primary - St Chad's Patchway CE Primary School, Gloucestershire

Wales and South West Secondary - St Luke's CE Science and Sports College, Devon

London Primary - St Luke's CE Primary School, Canning Town

London Secondary - The Ursuline High School, Wimbledon

South East Primary - St Swithun's Catholic Primary School, Portsmouth

South East Secondary - The Piggott School, Twyford

Specially commended schools were:

St Joseph's Special School, Cranleigh

Sarum Academy, Salisbury

Salesian School, Chertsey

Source: http://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2011/03/cofe-schools-top-new-church-school-awards.aspx

Reprinted with permission from http://www.churchofengland.org