Desmond Tutu visits Archbishop Holgate School (From York Press)

Desmond Tutu visits Archbishop Holgate School

8:09am Saturday 17th November 2012 in News

ARCHBISHOP Desmond Tutu was the guest of honour at Archbishop Holgate’s CE School in York.

The former Archbishop of Cape Town visited the school in Hull Road yesterday to dedicate a contemplative garden at the heart of the school which will be developed over the next few months by product design students.

The visit came shortly after the school was one of the first secondaries in the country to receive an “outstanding” judgement in all four categories of the new inspection framework of the National Society of the Church of England (SIAS).

The Archbishop visited the school to recognise its work and to celebrate its extensive links with the Diocese of Cape Town since 2004. Archbishop Tutu also received an honorary degree from St John University earlier this week.

Archbishop Tutu said: “It is wonderful to hear from those who went on the visit to South Africa, as it has had such a profound impact on their attitudes towards life. This is a wonderful school – you all certainly get an A for behaviour.”

Andrew Daly, the head teacher, said: “The Archbishop thoroughly enjoyed the visit and we look forward to continuing our mission to ensure every child at the school and in our partner schools in South Africa has an outstanding education.”

Year 12 student Jacob Appleby said: “I talked to the Archbishop about our sixth form and the school. I was very proud to represent the school and I will never forget this day. He is an inspiration and to meet him is an honour.”

Amy Freer, of Year 13, said: “The Archbishop listened to our presentation on our work in South Africa. He made us proud of our achievements and we were inspired by his words.”