AHEAD of Holy Week, Archbishop Leo Cushley arrived in the Borders to visit three of the region's four Catholic schools.

And despite the looming closure of St Margaret's in Hawick due to falling numbers, the Archbishop was encouraged by his tour.

As well as the Hawick primary, Archbishop Cushley visited St Margaret's in Galashiels and St Joseph's in Selkirk.

The visit was part of a year long celebration to commemorate 100 years of state-funded Catholic education.

Archbishop Cushley told the Border Telegraph: "I was delighted to visit our schools in Hawick, Selkirk and Galashiels and to find them to be such happy and holy places of learning where our young people can grow in wisdom and virtue.

“The three schools are a credit to the pupils, their families, the manager of learning, Mrs Robertson, and all her hard working staff.”

The Archbishop’s first stop was St Margaret’s Roman Catholic Primary in Hawick, where he was welcomed by the school chaplain, Father Edward Wanat SDS, along with Catherine Thomson, senior education officer, Moira Robertson, manager of learning, and pupils from P6 and P7.

The pupils took Archbishop Cushley on a tour of their school, sharing the highlights of their learning throughout the year, followed by a question and answer session.

Archbishop Cushley revealed how and why he become a priest, and described his journey in the priesthood.

The next stop on the tour was to St Joseph’s Primary School in Selkirk.

During an enthusiastic reception from the Primary 4 to 7 pupils, the Archbishop discussed his role within the Church.

And he was then treated to a performance of local folk tale Tam Linn by Primary 3 and 4 pupils.

Archbishop Cushley's last visit of the day was to St Margaret’s Primary School in Galashiels, where he enjoyed sharing learning in Religious Education and Science with all the classes, and engaging in question and answer sessions.

To end the visit, he bestowed a special blessing upon the school in its 50th anniversary year.

The children then sang Hail Mary before the staff had the opportunity to meet the Archbishop and chat over coffee.

Learning manager Moira Robertson was delighted with the Archbishop's visit.

She told us: "What a fabulous day, welcoming Archbishop Cushley to all three of my schools has been such a privilege.

“His Grace shared many experiences of his time in Rome working with the Pope, which stimulated insightful questions from our learners and the children in all classes valued talking to Archbishop Cushley about their faith development.

“Archbishop Cushley has inspired the children to consider the skills and attributes needed to be an Archbishop, and how the talents they are developing now may lead to amazing careers in their future.”