A BISHOP has performed a special blessing to mark the progress in building a Carlisle school.

The Bishop of Lancaster, Paul Swarbrick, celebrated the laying of a foundation stone which will be mounted at the new Newman School in Carlisle.

The catholic school’s original home on Lismore Place was submerged in seven feet of water when Storm Desmond struck in December 2015.

Members of the clergy, dignitaries from the area and supporters of the school arrived yesterday to mark its progress.

The bishop said: “It’s wonderful to be here, people have really come together to celebrate, there is a real buzz.

“It’s really good to be incorporating the old school site with the new one by placing the old foundation stone side by side with the new one, there was so much good done on the old site and it’s important to show that it hasn’t been washed away.”

Keeping the project on time is Paul Mullen, the project manager for Galliford Try, who said: “It’s fantastic to be able to host the Bishop once again on-site, to mark the progress we have made so far on the school.

“The Diocese, school and wider community have all been highly involved with what we are doing so far, and as the project moves ahead we look forward to delivering the high-quality facilities that the school deserves.”

Newman headteacher John McAuley is excited by the progress and said: “Once again, it is wonderful to be able to join the Bishop, Trustees and representatives of the Diocese of Lancaster, together with members of the community who have supported the school. These stakeholders will work with us in the coming months as we build a new school where our young people will study and grow.

“Considerable time has been spent in the design process with our contractor Galliford Try to ensure that we can offer outstanding facilities and resources for our students from year seven into the sixth form. The buildings are now taking shape on the campus and the project is running to schedule.

“We are now looking to the future to provide a Catholic school fit for the 21st Century. The blessing and laying of the foundation stone is a significant highlight for the Newman community, with our bespoke new school due to open in 2020.”

The end result is highly anticipated and student Cliodhna Denny who is in her fourth year at the school said: “I can’t wait to spend my last year here, so much has changed since the last time I was at the site. It will be really nice to see it finished.”