John Kyrle High School’s Religious Education department were delighted to welcome former student Reverend Elliot Swattridge to a Year 10 GCSE class recently. Elliot left JKHS back in 2011 having secured excellent examination results, including a grade A in Religious Studies.

As far as anyone at JKHS is aware, he is the only student in the last 20 years to have trained to be a Christian minister and has been ordained in the Church of England. Elliot is currently serving as a curate at St Philip and St James Church in Hereford.  

He answered students’ questions on a wide variety of topics around Christian beliefs, ethics and practices. Head of RS, Nick Wardale, said: “We always love to welcome visitors to the department and in recent years have received guests from a variety of faith and non-faith backgrounds.

“It’s been great getting reacquainted with Elliot, and I do very much hope that he will visit again. Students were very interested to hear his story and they certainly put him through his paces with their rigorous questioning.”

After the lesson, Elliot was shown around the school and met briefly with some of his former teachers. Elliot was able to see many of the new developments that have taken place in the school during the last 7 years.

Elliot said: “It was an immense privilege to return to John Kyrle seven years after leaving in 2011. As soon as I set foot on site, it was like diving into a wave of nostalgia, with every door and room and even corridor flooded with deep memories.

“After initially feeling nervous about how it would be going back, the really warm welcome by all the members of staff, who to my great surprise somehow still remembered who I was, made me feel at home again almost instantly.

“It was wonderful speaking to the GCSE class and hearing their thoughts, questions and insights into God and faith, and I was really refreshed by the depth and genuineness of what they shared. Can’t wait for next time!”See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.