Charitable school wins annual awards
CHRIST’S HOSPITAL, near Horsham, in West Sussex, has been named Independent School of the Year 2024 by the Independent School Parent magazine and the Telegraph Media Group. It was chosen from more than 700 nominations of independent schools in the UK. It also won the performing-arts category. At the awards ceremony in London on Tuesday, the judges praised the school, “which embodies accessibility, sensitivity, and responsiveness to pupil need, and an unremitting determination to offer to all the kind of education that every child deserves”. The school was founded in the City of London in 1552 by King Edward VI, having been inspired by a sermon by the Bishop of London, Nicholas Ridley. It has since had several locations, including Ware and Hertford, and has been situated in West Sussex since 1902. A co-educational school, it accepts boarders and day-pupils. “More than 75 per cent of CH students are supported by our unique bursary programme — with an overall value of £23 million per year,” the head teacher, Simon Reid, said. The awards were chaired by Dr Helen Wright, international education adviser and past vice-chair of the Independent Schools Commission, supported by a panel of judges from the education sector.
Church Commissioners’ CEO to step down
THE chief executive of the Church Commissioners, Gareth Mostyn, is to leave in early 2025 after five years in his post. He joined the Church’s national institutions in 2018 as chief financial and operating officer and was promoted to chief executive in 2020. “It has been an honour to serve the Church in these fascinating roles through such challenging times,” he said. An announcement from the Commissioners last week said that Mr Mostyn planned “to focus on his non-executive career, having been appointed to a new non-executive director role at an NHS foundation trust, alongside his non-executive director role at Sovereign Network Group”, a housing association. His successor will be identified through an open recruitment process.
New trail to explore Caribbean links at St Paul’s
Pantheons – Sculpture at St Paul’s Cathedral (c.1796-1916) (york.ac.uk)One of the monuments on the St Paul’s trailA NEW digital trail at St Paul’s Cathedral is to explore the history of the cathedral’s monuments to ten people who were involved in the French Revolutionary Wars in the Caribbean. It has been created in partnership with SV2G, a Caribbean arts and heritage organisation. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Britain engaged in an intensive series of military campaigns against France for control over the Windward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. The Dean of St Paul’s, the Very Revd Andrew Tremlett, said that the cathedral was, “by its nature, the host for contemplative reflection. It is therefore of the utmost importance for the cathedral to create a forum for conversation and reflection around stories such as these.” A similar trail of 15 monuments to people connected to the East India Company was announced this year (News, 26 April). Both projects are being funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund — delivered by the Museums Association — and project-managed by Dr Renie Chow Choy. They include research from the academic project “Pantheons: Sculpture at St Paul’s Cathedral, c.1796-1916”, hosted by the Department of History of Art at the University of York.
Sing your carols outdoors, urges Shine Your Light
CHURCHES across the UK are being encouraged to take their carol services and nativities outdoors this Christmas as a way of inviting the public in. In response to the decline in church attendance, the cross-denominational initiative Shine Your Light was piloted last year, involving 700 churches of 68 denominations. It was re-launched on Tuesday with a new aim of involving 1000 churches and 100,000 Christians to reach a further one million people, both UK residents and tourists. Partners include the Church of England, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance, the Methodist Church, the Salvation Army, and the United Reformed Church. Locations such as shopping centres, village greens, and community centres are suggested. shineyourlight.org.uk
Warm spaces needed more than ever, says Brown
THE whole UK population should have access to a Warm Welcome Space within walking distance, the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said. He is a founding member of the Warm Welcome Campaign, which set up two years ago in response to the cost-of-living crisis, particularly to address rising energy bills (News, 14 June), but also loneliness. Hundreds of churches are among the heated spaces that have been offered as part of the winter scheme. In a video message released this week, Mr Brown said: “Today almost two out of every three people are within 30 minutes of a Warm Welcome Space in their community. But that’s not good enough: we have set ourselves a new mission for the next year to ensure that 100 per cent of the population has access to a Warm Welcome Space within walking distance.”
Methodist college to move to new Cambridge site
THE Methodist theological college Wesley House is to move from Jesus Lane, Cambridge, where it has existed for 100 years, to a new site close to the Cambridge Theological Federation. An announcement last week from the Board of Trustees said that the new premises would continue to house its offices, library, and teaching spaces, but that the Federation’s partner institutions would provide overnight accommodation for visiting students and scholars. “We are finding that the demand is for students, particularly at Master’s and doctoral level, to study part-time alongside their work and family commitments and in their home contexts,” the Board said. Both the pandemic and advances in IT had accelerated this change of context. The chair, Christine Elliott, said: “Whilst we will be sad to leave the Jesus Lane site, the prize will be a sustainable future for our work and the flexibility to adapt to developing educational needs across the world.”