The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, visited Giggleswick School as part of its quincentenary celebration.

Dr Sentamu delivered the 2012 Sir Douglas Glover Memorial Lecture and took as his subject “justice in a pluralising and secularising society”, speaking of the role of religion in providing a moral framework.

Before the lecture, Dr Sentamu officiated at a special commemoration service and dedicated an “Ebenezer Stone”, carved by the school’s art technician Dominic Tuck, who has worked as a stone mason at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

The stone will stand in the centre of the school as a reminder of Giggleswick’s Christian heritage.

The Archbishop met five pupils who are working towards the Archbishop of York Youth Trust’s Young Leaders’ Award.

Coordinated by school chaplain the Rev John Bavington, the award is aimed at equipping young people to be a force for good in their local community .

Headmaster Geoffrey Boult said: “The Archbishop of York is a man who inspires young and old alike. It was wonderful that he was able to come to Giggleswick to be part of our quincentenary celebrations.”

The documented link between Giggleswick School and the Archbishops of York goes back over 500 years.

Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge was involved in the leasing of the land for the first school, in 1507, and was Archbishop of York at the time of the school’s foundation in 1512.