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Great Britain - Award of “Member of the Order of the British Empire” to Fr George Robson

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(ANS – Liverpool) – The new Bootle school, “All Saints RC Primary”, based in the Salesian parish of St James was officially opened recently by Bishop Tom Williams, auxiliary of Liverpool, and the local MP, Mr Joe Benton, who is also a governor of Savio Salesian College.

The school offers a state of the art educational and community facility, that is open from 7.30am to late at night and is only closed for two weeks in the year. The school is sited opposite the parish church of St James and is seen as an intrinsic part of the Salesian mission in Bootle. The new school shows the parish vision statement at work: "with Christ and the Church, building the future, in Bootle, on firm foundations."

New art works at the school were also unveiled, especially those of the community art project on the theme of “Unity” that greets visitors as they enter the site; local artists worked with the parish school and the local county school at Thomas Grey to give a visible expression of community cohesion at work. Also revealed was the latest creation of the Salesian artist, Fr Albert Carrette SDB a wonderful `All Saints Icon` which is in the entrance lobby: St John Bosco is surrounded by the patron saints of the three previous schools, St James, St Joan of Arc and St Winefride & St Richard.

The parish was delighted to welcome back their former PP, Fr Michael Hynes SDB and Fr Mervyn Williams SDB, a member of the Bootle Project Team who represented the Salesian Provincial, Fr Michael Winstanley, SDB, and his Council. The school was especially delighted to welcome Liverpool FC soccer sensation, Jamie Carragher. A group of staff and children from the partner school, Bashu in Choncheng, China were also welcomed.

All Saints RC Primary School has found international links especially important. In October a group of staff and children travelled from Bootle to Choncheng to spend a week in a Chinese school and to enhance their Mandarin language programme; the parish priest and Chair of Governors, Fr Gerry O`Shaughnessy SDB spent part of his recent English Speaking Union American Chapel Scholarship working with another partner school at San Carlos, Monterrey, California.

February 2010 will see a group of staff visiting a very special partner at St Raphael School in Freetown, Sierra Leone, while June sees the school choir performing at a Music Festival in Hungary.

The day was also an opportunity to thank the school’s retiring Headteacher, Mr Sanderson, CBE, for his hard  work, and Fr Tom Williams SDB, the Rector, and the entire Salesian Community in Bootle for their positive witness and for remaining true to the ideals of St John Bosco.

Published 18/12/2009