This Sunday 8 September, at the end of the first week of the new academic year, we celebrate Education Sunday. Our Catholic schools are a key element of the vitality and mission of the Diocese, places of learning and communities where the seeds of hope are planted and where all are enabled within Christ at the centre to grow spiritually, academically, morally and personally to become twenty first century citizens ready to embrace and transform the world in which they live.

Over the course of the last year 2,354 teachers and leaders in education and an additional 1,877 support staff and 386 volunteer governors and directors have delivered an enriching curriculum across a full spectrum of subjects to the 31,244 pupils in their care. Educators have assisted in the Church’s mission of making Christ known to all people with 5,460 hours of Religious Education taught in our schools along with the fostering of over 164,000 minutes of prayer.

With a well-deserved reputation for academic excellence and pastoral care, a staggering 91% of our schools are currently graded good or better in their most recent Ofsted or ISI Inspection. In line with the Bishop’s vision for Catholic education, our voluntary-aided schools will be incorporated into two Catholic Academy Trusts that will serve the north and south of the Diocese with a target date for full academisation by September 2027.

This summer our schools once again celebrated an excellent set of GCSE, A Level, BTECH and other examination results, a clear testament to the ambition and commitment of every pupil, teacher, parent and carer within our Catholic school communities.

All Hallows Catholic School in Farnham was typical of many with 38% of all A Level grades received being A* – A and 60% A* – B. No less than 17 pupils achieved all A* or A grades in their A Level examinations.

Headteacher, Mark Baines, said, ‘The All Hallows Family is incredibly proud of the success of our Year 13 students and we thank them for their contributions to the thriving school community.  My thanks go to the committed and excellent staff who have taught them, and to the parents and carers whose love and support has supported their child and the school throughout their studies.”

As the summer break gives way to the start of the new school year, Bishop Philip Egan, Bishop of Portsmouth remarked: “As Education Sunday approaches, we give thanks for all our Catholic schools, colleges and universities and for the school leaders, teachers, teaching assistants, chaplains and all those involved in the provision of Catholic education within them.  I am inordinately proud as Bishop by the success achieved by the young people who make up our Catholic pupil population, success which goes beyond league tables. These are young people with ambition, integrity and moral purpose whose education is guided by the teachings, traditions, sacraments and spirituality of the Catholic Church and categorised by the Christian values of love, caring and service. We pray that Christ the Teacher will continue to strengthen their faith and fill their hearts with courage and hope.”