Tercentenary celebrations for the City's only school

25/01/10

The Bishop of London held a service at St Botolph's Church for Sir John Cass’s Church of England Primary School - the only state primary in the City of London.

The Bishop, who praised the 'remarkable' achievements of the school, led a special service which blended modern and traditional hymns. Pupils treated the Bishop to a selection of solo performances and a dramatisation of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. 

The Bishop's service was part of a month long celebration of the School's tercentenary including a 100th birthday party for the school building, a visit from the Pearly King of Peckham, George Major and a '1710 Day'.

1710 Day involved a visit to the school by the characters of Sir John Cass, his wife Elizabeth and their coachman Henry Waite. Sir John, who arrived at the school by horse-drawn carriage, led a series of workshops during which he checked pupil’s attainments at manners, languages, knitting and mental arithmetic. All of the children and staff dressed up in '1710 clothes' – the year in which the school was founded.

Sir John Cass’s Primary School is the only state primary school in the City of London. Its current building, near Aldgate, is within a hundred yards of the small "school house" leased by Sir John Cass in the early years of the eighteenth century.

The school was recently rated as outstanding in its Ofsted report.

Head Teacher at Sir John Cass’s Primary School Gerry Loughran said:

"It was wonderful to have Bishop Richard visit our school and church to help us to launch our Tercentenary Celebrations. The children were very very impressed by his story on how to be generous using Sir John Cass as a role model."

The Bishop of London said:

"Sir John Cass School is serving the local community in a very remarkable way. I was especially impressed by the involvement of parents in every aspect of the School’s life.

"The Head Teacher since 1992, Mr Gerry Loughran, deserves a medal for his generous service to the school and I was glad to give him one at the celebration service in St Botolph’s Church."