- What can the church do to support people’s mental health?
- How would you motivate people to find out more about Christianity?
- Do you think it’s important for all students to study RE in school and why?
- What is your favourite part of being a Bishop?
- What was your favourite subject at school?
-
28 March 2025
School marks 270 years with John Pounds celebration
Staff, parents and pupils at St George’s CofE Beneficial School in Portsea are marking their ... read more
-
24 March 2025
Diocese refers Isle of Wight Council to independent adjudicator
Our diocese has referred the Isle of Wight Council to an independent adjudicator over the ... read more
-
20 March 2025
Council decision on Isle of Wight school closures
The Isle of Wight Council has decided to close one CofE school, but has rejected ... read more
Island school welcomes Bishop Jonathan
BISHOP Jonathan visited a church school on the Isle of Wight - where pupils were given the chance to ask him questions.
The bishop was a guest at The Bay C of E School in Sandown at the start of September. The Bay School is the only church school on the Isle of Wight that teaches pupils from the ages of four to 16.
He met pupils and staff, who welcomed him into the school community, and gave him a tour of the primary site on Winchester Park Road. He was then led by four Year 6 pupils as they walked him over to the secondary site.
At the secondary site he was joined by some Year 7 pupils, who joined with the Year 6 pupils for a conference at which they asked him questions. Among the questions were:
The pupils were interested to hear how he once travelled toAustralia and played cricket for a local team, and that his favourite subject at school was sport. He talked passionately about how he sees one of the roles of being a Bishop to speak up boldly if he sees something unfair in society.
After listening with great interest to the pupils and finding out how they had settled into the new term, Bishop Jonathan was given a tour of the secondary site.
Lexi from Year 6 said: "I was really proud to be asked to meet with Bishop Jonathan. He was interested in what we thought about our school and it was a great opportunity to get to ask him questions.”
And executive headteacher Duncan Mills said: “We were delighted to welcome Rt Rev Dr Jonathan Frost, the Bishop of Portsmouth, to our school community. As the only Church of England, all-through school on the Isle of Wight, he was keen to find out about the running of the school across two sites. He enjoyed the pupil conference and welcomed the questions put to him.”