Children from Sutton-Upon-Derwent C.E. Primary School have designed a new bridge for the school, after a generous legacy was left to the local church. The bridge was opened at a special service on Monday 13th July at 3pm, attended by members of the church congregation.
The Revd Ian Kitchen, Rector of St Michael’s Sutton-Upon-Derwent said, “The late James Corney and his family have given money for children's work at the church, and we wanted to share some of this with the school as a way of developing the relationships between church and school. We were very moved that the children wanted to use the money to build a bridge in the shape of a cross, showing the Christian ethos of the school and the central importance of Jesus.”
Sue Stephenson, RE Teacher at Sutton-Upon-Derwent C.E. Primary School said, “We were delighted to be offered this generous gift from Mr Corney, so I asked the children what we should do with the money. They wanted to build something , and ideas included ‘something circular – it should be never ending’, ‘a bubbling water feature with cobbles in a cross shape’, ‘a fence or hedge to create a quiet space’, ‘an arbour with a cross at the entrance’, ‘adding a back panel of stained glass to the bandstand’, ‘a bridge in the shape of a cross’. The idea came from Amelie in Year 5, who said that a cross shaped bridge would be like life, when you get to the top you can choose which way to go. After thought and discussion the staff decided to go with the bridge and the stained glass ideas and the PCC approved our plans.
“Annette Atkin, our environmental tutor, designed the bridge and constructed it with the help of her husband. The children helped sand it, and have been delighted to see it develop. It has already been used as a pirate ship, the Billy Goats Gruffs’ Bridge and for peeping over the hedge into our Wild Life Area. The children have also created ‘stained glass’ to create windows in the bandstand, painting on Perspex to create pictures of the Easter story, the Nativity, and Noah’s Ark. The enthusiasm of the children throughout this project has been a delight to see.”
Children from Class 3 and 4 have written prayers that were read at the Opening Service on Monday 13th July, and a version of ‘Who put the colours in the rainbow?’ that last year’s Class 3 wrote which they called ‘Who put the mischief in the children?’.