Visit of Archbishop Rowan Williams School to Lambeth Palace

Tuesday 17th July 2012

Accompanied by Head Teacher Graham Murphy and teachers and parents, the twenty-eight Year 6 students were given a tour of the Palace and then met with Dr Williams.  The Archbishop had visited his namesake school in 2011, but since his visit the Royal Wedding had taken place so the children wanted to hear about that experience.  The Archbishop was able to tell them that it had, in fact, felt very relaxed and homely in spite of the cameras broadcasting it to millions of people all around the world.  

The children chatted with the Archbishop about Lambeth Palace, saying that they had liked seeing the paintings and sculptures and hearing about the history.  The Palace, they said, was like Dr Who's TARDIS in that it appeared small from the outside but turned out to be much bigger once you got inside.  Other topics of conversation included 'Does an Archbishop ever wear ordinary clothes?' ('Yes, on holiday I dress like a normal human being'), 'How many other languages do you speak?' ('Welsh, French, German and I can read a bit of Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Russian'), 'What was your favourite lesson at school?' ('Art at first, but later English, and History too') and 'Do you ever read the books in the Lambeth Palace Library?' ('Yes, but I have to ask the librarians to help me find what I'm looking for!').

The children also asked about the presents that Dr Williams had received during his time as Archbishop.  As an example of a very special gift, the Archbishop showed them the beautiful copy of the Codex Pauli given by the Pope on his visit to Lambeth Palace in 2010. Head Teacher Graham Murphy asked what it was like when the Archbishop and the Pope got together, and the Archbishop said that they always had a lot to talk about and that a real warmth and friendship had developed over the years. 

After their time with the Archbishop, the visitors had lunch in the garden before leaving Lambeth Palace to see more of London before the trip home to Wales.

Year 6 pupils from Archbishop Rowan Williams VA Church-in-Wales Primary School, with the Archbishop in the Lambeth Palace Atrium.

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