Official opening of new Church of England School in Rugby
On the 18th October St Gabriel’s Church of England Academy in Houlton will be officially opened during a service of blessing and dedication lead by the Bishop of Coventry, the Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth.
Rugby’s new neighbourhood of Houlton is currently being built on the former Rugby Radio Station site by master developers Urban and Civic plc in partnership with Aviva Investors. Over the next fifteen to twenty years, 6200 homes will be built on the site as well as a new link road to Rugby, extensive green spaces, shops, businesses, health provision and other local amenities. St Gabriel’s CofE Academy is the first of three primary schools and one secondary school to be built in Houlton.
As the first school on the site, St Gabriel’s is a hub for the local community. 71 pupils joined the school in September, many from the new community of Houlton as well as neighbouring villages and the town of Rugby. For parents new to the area, the school is often their first opportunity to meet members of the community and access a range of services. It will be a place where they can feel listened to, valued and supported. Therefore, very fittingly, the school has been named after the Bible’s great communicator, the archangel Gabriel. Gabriel communicates God’s messages to at least three people in the Bible, the most famous being the Virgin Mary, to whom he announces that she will bear God’s son, Jesus.
St Gabriel’s CofE Academy will join a family of 75 Church of England schools and academies across Warwickshire and Coventry. St Gabriel’s, committed to its vision of “communicating love; inspiring our community to flourish”, will communicate the best principles of Christian education to help each child flourish through life.
Headteacher, Andrew Taylor says:
“It is wonderful to be open and to see our school come alive with young people. It’s a great joy to be part of a fantastic team who are all passionate about providing the best possible education for our pupils, living out our ethos and values. A heartfelt thanks goes out to the many, many people who have made this possible and to the families of our young people for trusting us with the next stage of their children’s education.”
The Bishop of Coventry, the Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth says:
“Children are full of possibilities. Houlton, as more homes are built and people move in, is full of possibilities. St Gabriel’s has the wonderful opportunity to turn these possibilities into realities – the realities of lives lived fully in a mutually supportive community that seeks the very best for each person. I really look forward to seeing this new life bursting into being on 18th October at its official opening.”
Nigel Hugill, Chief Executive for Urban&Civic says:
“Beautiful on the outside and happy within, St Gabriel's at Houlton is everything for which we could have hoped and so many have worked so hard to achieve. Bishop Christopher and his team bring the best possible stewardship and Headmaster Andrew Taylor is a true inspiration. It takes many hearts to build a school; St Gabriel's has been blessed with more than its fair share."
Find out more about the school here.
