Pupils from years 4 and 5 at Bengeworth CE Academy in Evesham recently spent a day visiting Selwyn College in Cambridge.
The visit was arranged by Curate, Mike Edwards. 30 children had a full tour of the college where they saw the library and some of the accommodation and enjoyed a cooked lunch in the hall.
They also visited the chapel where the school's worship team helped Mike and the Dean of the Chapel lead a special Collective Worship / Evensong.
Mike said: “The idea, for me, came from the fact that both Bengeworth school and Selwyn college have a shared identity in offering excellent education to people from any and all backgrounds, informed by their Christian ethos.”
Selwyn College is Bishop Martin’s old university and this week, he visited Bengeworth to hear about the children’s experiences on their trip. He was given a tour of the school by Ava, Aran and Evie Blue from year 5 and then spoke with members of the worship team and pupil parliament who had visited Cambridge.
The children told Bishop Martin that the hall at Selwyn College reminded them of Hogwarts in Harry Potter and they enjoyed learning about all the different societies students could join. Bishop Martin talked about his own experiences and the fact he took part in rowing while at Cambridge.
He said: “Selwyn College was named after George Augustus Selwyn, who was bishop of Lichfield as well as the first Anglican bishop of New Zealand. The college was originally established to enable children of poorer backgrounds to attend Cambridge University.”
Head of Bengeworth CE Academy, Hayley Potter said: “We had a great day at Selwyn College. We have been encouraging the children to start thinking about what they might want to do when they are older, and the visit worked well with this curriculum focus on pupil leadership and raising aspirations.”
