Knaresborough St John’s Church of England Primary School has received a ‘good’ Ofsted rating in its latest report.
Inspectors described the school, which is part of Elevate Multi Academy Trust, as “welcoming and caring” and said “the school places very high value on pupils’ personal development”.
The report said there was a strong relationships between pupils and adults. It added that there was a rarity of bullying in the school and a broad and ambitious curriculum.
The report said:
“Respect is at the very heart of this school and individuality is celebrated. Pupils say that one of the best things about their school is how kind staff are. Leaders at all levels are passionate about their school and have high expectations.
“Their goal is for students to flourish in all areas, this includes academically, spiritually and by becoming active in the local community.”
Knaresborough St John’s Church of England Primary School on Stockwell Road.
Alex Hope, the school’s headteacher, said the staff took pride in the findings in the latest Ofsted report.
He said:
“I am so proud of everyone involved with Knaresborough St John’s C of E Primary School for being recognised as being a good school that provides the best possible start for our youngest children.
“We know the importance of the earliest years in school and how they create the foundation for the rest of a child’s school life. We take pride in this being one of our exceptional strengths.”
Read more:
- Knaresborough health and beauty week begins today
- Councillors reject last-ditch bid to save Fountains Earth school
Christmas market and firework finale come to Knaresborough this weekend
The festive season gets underway in Knaresborough this weekend with the Christmas Market and the launch of the Christmas Tree Festival.
Centred around the large Christmas tree in the town’s historic Market Place, the two-day shopping event, on Saturday and Sunday, December 3 and 4, will feature almost 60 stalls selling seasonal goods, decorations, cards, gifts and locally-sourced produce.
Hot roasted chestnuts, mulled wine and performances by local dancers, brass bands and choirs promise to add to the festive atmosphere.
Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and Commerce committee member Charlotte Gale said:
“We have a fantastic range of local independent shops, galleries, cafes and restaurants in town, not just in the market square, but on the surrounding streets and High Street.
“We hope that visitors to the market will also take the time to explore everything which Knaresborough has to offer. There is even a book signing at Castlegate Books with best selling local crime author Wes Markin from noon on Saturday.
“Knaresborough’s businesses always make such an effort to decorate their windows for Christmas, which gives a wonderful festive feeling in town on the market weekend.
“There are lots of events happening around the town too, including a shopping event at Knaresborough train station and the start of the stunning Christmas Tree Festival at St John’s Church, which features beautifully decorated trees from local businesses and organisations.”
The Christmas Market is organised by volunteers from Knaresborough Rotary, Knaresborough Chamber and Knaresborough Lions.
Free park and ride
The centre of Knaresborough will be largely pedestrianised for the event, but a free park and ride is available all weekend from the GSPK car park (postcode HG5 8LF) on Manse Lane to Chapel Street, close to the Market Square.
The weekend will close at 4.30pm on Sunday, December 4 with a firework finale, set against the dramatic backdrop of Knaresborough’s famous viaduct and the Nidd Gorge. This is best seen from any viewpoint which overlooks the river area.
Market chair Hazel Haas, of Knaresborough Rotary, said:
“We are keen that this year’s market benefits the town as a whole.
“Members of our volunteer committee have been liaising with other local organisations and businesses to ensure that we are promoting the full range of festive events taking place in Knaresborough over the market weekend, including the popular Christmas Tree Festival at St John’s Church.”
The Christmas Tree Festival at St John’s will run from Saturday December 3 until December 23.
Every year more than 70 Christmas trees decorated by local groups and businesses are displayed in the church on Vicarage Lane.
Read more:
- Guide to Christmas fairs and markets in the Harrogate district
- Time to sparkle: Your guide to Christmas lights switch-ons across the district
Admission is free, but there will be the opportunity to donate to the church and the event’s chosen charity for this year.
For more information on Knaresborough Christmas Market, including travel information, entertainment timings and events taking place throughout the town, click here.
Meanwhile, Harrogate’s Christmas Fayre kicked off today and tonight (Friday) sees the return of late night shopping in Pateley Bridge and Bewerley for the first time since 2019.
Shops will stay open until about 7.30pm to offer festive treats and community groups will operate stalls along the High Street.
Harrogate’s Christmas Fayre got underway today and next week sees Boroughbridge’s late night shopping and Christmas lights switch-on event on Wednesday (December 7).
Bells ring out across the district once more as Charles III proclaimed KingBells are ringing out once more across the Harrogate district today to formally proclaim King Charles III as the new sovereign.
This time it is a celebratory peal to mark the King’s ascension to the throne.
The Reverend Judith Clark, assistant curate on placement at St Peter’s, Harrogate, said:
“When the bells ring out today they will be unmuffled for the proclamation of King Charles III.”
After today, bells will then be muffled again until the day of the Queen’s funeral.
Churches remain open today for tributes, reflection and mourning.
Special services in commemoration of the Queen are also taking place across the district, including at St Peter’s Church, St John’s, Knaresborough, and Ripon Cathedral.
Star of Scotland shines bright in a Sharow churchyardWhere, in the Ripon area, can you find an internationally-famous astronomer buried in a grave marked with a small pyramid-shaped monument and why?
The answers can be found in the churchyard of St John’s Sharow, where Charles Piazzi Smyth was laid to rest following his death on 21 February 1900.
Smyth was born in Naples on 3 January 1819. At the age of 26 he became the youngest-ever Astronomer Royal for Scotland — a title given to the director of the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh.
Smyth, who held the position for more than 40 years, was also professor of astronomy at Edinburgh University.
He has the distinction of being the man behind the introduction of Edinburgh Castle’s one o’clock gun, which is fired six days a week as a guide to shipping.
In an era of unprecedented industrial growth, which saw polluted skies obscure the stars, Smyth literally took his career to new heights when he and his wife climbed the mountains of Tenerife and used a 7.5 inch refracting telescope to view the night sky at altitude.
His pioneering work demonstrated the need for observatories to be located on high ground to achieve best results and he set the standard for astronomers across the globe, which saw him named as the ‘father of mountain astronomy’.
St John’s Sharow, the last resting place of Charles Piazzi Smyth and his wife Jessie
Move to Ripon
Claims made in his 1864 book The Great Pyramid: Its Secrets and Mysteries Revealed, including a conclusion that its construction was ‘guided by the hand of God’ were criticised and rejected by many of the scientific community and 10 years later, he resigned from The Royal Society.
Following his retirement in 1888, Smyth and his wife left Scotland and moved to a house called Clova, in Clotherholme Road, Ripon, where they lived in relative obscurity, away from members of Edinburgh’s scientific elite, who had turned their backs on him.
Smyth, who was also an accomplished photographer, artist and meteorologist, shares his grave in Sharow with his wife, Jessie, who died four years earlier.
A snapshot of their remarkable time together is captured in the words of a weather-beaten epitaph on the pyramid.
It says that Jessie was:
“His faithful and sympathetic friend and companion, through 40 years of varied scientific experiences, by land and sea abroad as well as at home, at 12,000 feet up in the atmosphere, on the wind swept peak of Tenerife, as well as underneath and upon the Great Pyramid of Egypt.
The reference to the Great Pyramid at Giza provides the reason for their unusual memorial.
In his epitaph, where key words are emphasised by capital letters, a posthumous message conveying the hurt feelings he took to his grave can be seen.
It says:
“As Bold in enterprise as he was Resolute in demanding a proper measure of public sympathy and support for Astronomy in Scotland, he was not less a living emblem of pious patience under Troubles and Afflictions and he has sunk to rest, laden with well-earned Scientific Honours, a Bright Star in the Firmament of Ardent Explorers of the Works of their Creator.”
Read more: