BISHOP Christopher will formally open and bless a new school on the Isle of Wight.

The Rt Rev Christopher Foster will unveil a plaque on Monday (October 8) to formally declare the Bay C of E School in Sandown open.

The new, all-through school, which will serve children aged between four and 16, is located on two sites – the existing primary site in Winchester Park Road, and the new secondary site in The Fairway. The latter was previously the site of another secondary school before its closure in the summer.

The link between the two sites will be marked by a procession from one site to the other. Bishop Christopher will process from the primary site to the secondary site on Monday afternoon, accompanied by pupils who are house captains and vice-captains, staff and governors.

The pupils will be from both primary and secondary parts of the Bay C of E School, and from Niton Primary School – all of which are part of the Cornerstone Federation of schools. The procession will follow a flag displaying the new logo of the all-through school.

Bishop Christopher will then unveil a plaque at the secondary site and formally bless current and future pupils, staff and governors. There will also be speeches and refreshments.

Secondary school students will then be able to quiz the bishop on a variety of issues relating to faith in a half-hour question-and-answer session in the newly-formed Inspire Suite.

Bishop Christopher Foster said: “I’m delighted not only to share in celebrating the opening of the new all-through Bay Church of England School and to bless it, but also to support its commitment to open and enquiring learning by engaging in dialogue with students about life, faith and society.”

And Executive Headteacher Duncan Mills said: “The Bay C of E Primary School was blessed and officially opened in June last year, but now – as one school over two sites – we want this special occasion to be marked and remembered.

“This day is another chapter in the journey of education in Sandown. Previous schools have been established on The Fairway site and this new iteration will seek to provide an education that the pupils deserve, the staff strive to deliver and the community is proud of.

“We want pupils to be eager to learn and for their voices to be recognised as important. These students are our future and therefore our student leaders across the Cornerstone Federation will be joining us on this special occasion.

“Bishop Christopher will be meeting student representatives after the blessing to answer questions that they have around faith and Christianity. This openness, transparency and willingness to support curiosity will be clear within the core values of the school.

“Our ethos of Believe, Inspire, Excel has a greater meaning that you may think. Having spoken to pupils from the age of 4 through to 16, many said that they want to believe in themselves, be inspired by us and excel both inside and outside the classroom. This ethos underpins everything we do at the Bay.”