Bishop of Berwick impressed by children’s ‘resilience’ on visit to Northumberland schools

Pupils at two schools welcomed a very special visitor.
The Right Reverend Mark Wroe, Bishop of Berwick, with school leaders from Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust.The Right Reverend Mark Wroe, Bishop of Berwick, with school leaders from Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust.
The Right Reverend Mark Wroe, Bishop of Berwick, with school leaders from Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust.

Staff and students at Grace Darling C of E Primary School, in Newbiggin, and Duke’s Secondary School, in Ashington, welcomed The Right Reverend Mark Wroe, Bishop of Berwick.

Formerly the Archdeacon of Northumberland, the Right Reverend Mark Wroe was installed as the Suffragan Bishop of Berwick in January this year – only the second person to have received the title in living memory after the Diocese of Newcastle resurrected the role in 2016 following a 444 year hiatus.

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During his visit, the Bishop was treated to a tour of the full Grace Darling C of E Primary School campus, visiting each class in turn to view their displays and find out how they were settling back into school.

He met with the school’s ‘Gardening Gang’ who look after the school’s outdoor spaces and spoke with staff about the school’s involvement in the Thrive programme for promoting positive mental health and wellbeing in children.

On arriving at the Duke’s Secondary School campus, the Bishop met with the school’s Principal, Russ Atkinson, and was shown around some of the classrooms where Covid-19 catch up sessions were taking place for students in critical exam years.

The day was rounded off with a meeting of school leaders from across Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust.

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The Right Reverend Mark Wroe, said: “I’ve been really impressed by what I’ve seen.

"The resilience that has been shown by teachers and pupils during what has been an incredibly challenging time for schools is just amazing and it’s great to see how people have come together to support each other.

"I’d like to thank Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust for having me and I’ll look forward to visiting again in future.”

Alan Hardie, CEO at Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust, added: “It was wonderful to have Bishop Mark with us.

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"At NCEAT, we value our close working relationship with the Dioceses of Newcastle and Durham and it is always a pleasure to host members of the clergy at our schools.”

For more about Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust, visit www.ncea.org.uk

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