Official blessing for school's new pair of helping hands

The ceremony for the eye-catching wooden sculpture, which includes a seat, was performed by the Bishop of Chichester.

The Rt Rev John Hind told the children of Walberton and Binsted C of E Primary School the hands showed them they would never be alone in life.

"When you sit on the seat and come here for a bit of peace and quiet, you know you are being held between Jesus' own hands," he said.

The sculpture has been installed in the grounds of the school off The Street and completes the 3m building which opened in September 2006.

Sculptor Martin Young and his wife Celia, from Lyme Regis, created from English oak the 1.4m-high hands and bench which has room for about six children.

He said: "I had forgotten how spectacular the hands looked until I drove into the school this morning.

"I am very proud of them. You can see them from 360 degrees and that's quite important."

Headteacher Maureen Shilliday said the hands were inspired by the famous Praying Hands sculpture by Albrecht Durer.

She said: "There has to be a quiet place in the school. I wanted this to be somewhere special."

The significance of the hands was read out to the assembled school by four ten-year-old pupils.

Shannon Passingham, Albie Condron, Alex Baxter and Amber Westron were chosen to speak because of the quality of their work in a project about the hands.

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