Bishop visits William Perkin High School in Greenford

The Bishop of London has led a blessing of the new chapel at William Perkin CofE High School in Ealing.

Bishop’s visit also marked the start of the new term for pupils and teachers, giving the Bishop the opportunity to join in the first assembly of the year, ahead of the blessing service. The local MP, Stephen Pound also attended the event.

During the service the Bishop was able to enjoy music and worship led by the students, with the choir performing ‘Bridge over troubled water’ and ‘Lean on me’ and other pupils performing pieces on the piano. Before leaving, the Bishop was also given a guided tour of the school by staff and pupils, where he got a chance to look around the recently completed building work around the school.

The School, which opened in 2013, recently had its first Ofsted inspection and was rated Outstanding in all areas. The report described the school as “exceptional” and that “The school has created an environment where students are confident, feel valued and part of the community, regardless of their religious or cultural heritage. Students state strongly that the Christian ethos embraces everyone”.

Alice Hudson, Executive Headteacher of Twyford CofE Academies Trust commented: “We are very proud of the way the Christian ethos pervades the community at William Perkin. The Chapel will be a daily reminder to students of the habits of prayer & reflectiveness we have encouraged them to develop. It has been tremendous to have the support of the London Diocese as the project has developed and we are very grateful to Bishop Richard for his personal support.”

Local MP Steve Pound who also attended the event said “This was a simply stunning occasion that showed the school at its very best. In a very short time the William Perkin School Choir have won a great reputation for themselves and they were at their finest on this occasion. The whole dedication service challenged us to think about serious issues and yet reassured us that there is great goodness in the world – and especially in Greenford!”

At present, William Perkin has three year groups, Years 7, 8 and 9, and currently caters for 600 students. The aim is for the School to include the standard seven year groups by 2019, providing an excellent educational experience for over 1,300 pupils. While being built upon strong Christian ethos, William Perkin has an open admissions policy for the local community, in which students of all faiths and none are accepted - encouraging an atmosphere of cooperation, exploration and respect.

William Perkins is named in memory of the famous scientist who initiated the synthetic organic chemical industry, accidentally discovering the first synthetic dye (mauveine) whilst trying to synthesize quinine from aniline. Perkin provides an icon of entrepreneurship for the school; but he also exemplifies the school’s passion to see its Christian ethos working in tandem with its science and modern foreign language specialisms.

William Perkin School was originally created in response to local demand, including a 2,000 name petition in support of the project. The school was set up under the auspices of Twyford CofE Academies Trust and the popular Twyford Church of England High School, which is heavily oversubscribed.

16th September 2015