THEY may not have been able to be there in person, but pupils at a Basingstoke school were certainly able to enter into the spirit of the Pope’s historic visit to the United Kingdom.

About 400 students from Bishop Challoner Roman Catholic Secondary School were able to watch the Papal visit on huge screens in St Joseph’s Church.

The school congregation gathered in the church in St Michael’s Road, South Ham, along with several members of the public while the older pupils watched the visit on screens inside the nearby school.

They were joining with every other Catholic school in the country as they all watched the event through live streaming on the internet on Friday, September 17.

The pupils said that they had been very impressed with the Pope and hoped to one day be able to meet him in person.

Year 8 pupil Nink Ofosu-Appiah, 12, said: “There was a bit of a wait before the Pope came out but it was well worth it. I thought that what he had to say was very interesting.

“The last visit by the Pope was long before I was born in 1982 but I’d really like the chance to go and see him myself.”

Pupil Laura House, 12, from Oakley, said that she had really enjoyed watching the big event at school. She added: “It was very exciting when the Pope appeared and I thought it was interesting to hear him speak.

“There have been quite a lot of preparations done by the school and we had an assembly last week in preparation for today.”

Father Mark Hogan the priest at St Joseph’s, organised the event alongside Tony Corish, head teacher of Bishop Challoner.

The priest, who travelled up to London to see the Pope on Saturday, said the whole experience had been wonderful.

He said: “I think that the performance of the Pope was incredible. He gave a really inspirational speech about how we can all improve ourselves.

“It is very easy sometimes to become wrapped up in yourself – what you want and think you need. But what we really need to concentrate on is what we can do to start helping others. It is only in this way that we will achieve true happiness for ourselves.”