I was honoured to attend the official opening of the new Rochester Riverside Primary School, part of The Pilgrim Academy Trust. The pleasure of officially opening the Church of England school was that of our very own Bishop of Rochester, The Rt Rev Dr Jonathan Gibbs.
The Pilgrim Trust, headed by their exceptional CEO, Jan Taylor and the trust board, have worked incredibly hard to make this a reality. The school was application was submitted in 2016 and during the period since, the Trust have faced many challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and problems with the building contractor, delaying the opening. Despite this, Jan and the board have persevered, and it was great to see what they had achieved. The Trust have been engaged with the development of Rochester Riverside from the start and it has been truly inspiring to witness the progress that they have made, from when I was first a ward councillor to seeing its completion as the Member of Parliament.
I know that with the hard work and dedication by Jan Taylor, her team, the board, Governors and the headmaster, Mrs Mepsted they will continue to make Rochester Riverside a success, and this was evident with the happiness of the children on the day.
I look forward to seeing what they achieve next, and I hope that the students enjoy learning and spending time at their new school.
Thank you to everyone who has been involved in delivering this fantastic facility for our Rochester community and I know it will continue to provide great value for Medway’s students.
You can find out more about Rochester Riverside Primary School at the following link: https://rrcoe.medway.sch.uk.
