Abingdon School boys are seeing life in a new light after £150,000-worth of stained glass windows were unveiled in the school chapel.

The series of new windows, which depict the Christian story and life at the school, were designed by Horton-cum-Studley artist Nicholas Mynheer.

Scenes included are boys playing rugby, students studying, choir and chess, and the project took nearly 10 years to complete.

One window celebrates the commitment of the school community to the Armed Forces and is plain but for a single red poppy.

The Rev Paul Gooding, the school’s assistant chaplain, said: “The interweaving of modern school scenes with God’s story represents the spiritual dimension of life – there is something for everybody to look at.”

Funding for the windows came from a wide spectrum with more than 200 individual supporters.

These included past and present staff, governors and parents, Old and honorary Abingdonians plus many individuals and organisations associated with the school.

Rev Gooding said: “They really are remarkable works of art. It is amazing to think that pupils and visitors to the school will be able to look at these for many, many years to come.

“It is quite humbling to be involved in a legacy project that you know will be there long after you have gone, they are as much for future generations as the present.”

Mr Mynheer started work on the windows in 2003.

He said: “I feel enormously privileged to have had the opportunity to design a set of chapel windows that celebrate all that is good about Abingdon School and reflect the faith on which it was founded.”

The Bishop of Oxford, Rt Rev John Pritchard, held a dedication service for the windows at the school on Friday, April 27.

He said: “The windows really are a magnificent achievement.

“They tell the story of the school in the context of the story of Christ and use design and colour very imaginatively for that purpose.

“I feel sure that the chapel will become a very significant place of Mynheer pilgrimage.

“Nicholas has surpassed himself.”