Reminders

and ghosts, for an evening of school life that I will forever associate with our much missed colleague, who I genuinely felt was there in spirit tonight. Maybe it was the collective thoughts of so many of us who 'felt' that he was that made it feel that way. Tonight, Geoffrey, you were missed, by us all collectively and individually - I have cried a little, which I know is ridiculous but it happened!

However, despite the still lingering sadness at times like these, tonight was indeed a celebration, of students who have 'done their time' with us and who returned to receive their GCSE certificates, and students who are still with us who received awards for academic and personal achievement.

Nights like this make me proud to be at our school. Our children, past and present, are always such a delight to be around - they do us, and themselves, proud.

We have enjoyed beautiful singing and a fabulous dance performance by students from the Russian delegation that we are hosting this week. We have witnessed moments of unrehearsed comedy from students who anticipated an opportunity for a giggle. I wondered briefly if I had timewarped onto the set of a really bad seventies movie when I walked towards a group of our male staff who are all sporting some quite fine, trimmed and shaped moustaches for Movember.

The students who have left us, have been away for little more than 5 months, yet they all seem to have blossomed into impending adulthood so quickly. Big smiles and an obvious happiness at being back with us, briefly, is yet another reminder of why it is important to do what we do.

The two ex-students (Tommy, top left in white top, and Shannon, with the seventies moustachio=ed spiv on the bottom row) are, I think, ones that we will watch with keen interest - along with others - as we have high hopes for big success. We shall see. They are by no means the only ones.

Onwards and upwards young ones - you have done us proud and the next ones will do the same, we have no doubt (well, sometimes we do, but they come good in the end...that is the way of working with young people)