It’s that time of the school year once more where roads start to divide, as the external exams start to crowd in and two year groups begin the process of decoupling from their school. Many of Year 11 will be back in the autumn of course, in their smart new suits ready to start the next challenge of A level. But for Year 13 we are almost at the point where paths really do diverge as they contemplate university or training, and the world beckons. On Friday last I spoke to all of them in the Sports Hall at the end of a wonderful assembly, shot through with memory and nostalgia. Here is an abbreviated script…
This get-together, probably your last in the Sports Hall shy of exams, is significant for you and the school. For us it’s all about the passing on of a brilliant, pioneering group of young adults. Our biggest sixth form year group so far. Our second coed one too. Pioneers trail blazers, role models. For you it’s a rite of passage. The end of your time here – after either 7 years or just 2. It’s a bit bland for me to say that I hope you’ve enjoyed your time here with us – but I do. I do hope that you feel that we have done our bit to help you on towards your next stage in life. But more than that I hope that you have had the chance to gain a breadth of perspective too. Your sixth form years have been so important for you – but also for the school.
Its difficult to find good words to use on days like this, so I am going to use someone else’s. That someone is Alan Bennett – this country’s greatest living playwright, and the words come from his play ‘The History Boys’. The play tells the story of a group of sixth formers – all boys in this case – who, just like you are studying A levels, aiming high and preparing for university. But drill down and the play is really about learning and the value of knowledge and education. The heart of the debate is between Irwin, a young teacher who delivers lessons in a deterministic way focusing on exams, and Hector, a shambolic but deeply intellectual English teacher who delights in the value of knowledge for its own sake. The true purpose of education is deconstructed with great artistry through the playscript and is finally wrapped up by Hector telling the boys this, on their last day before they move on beyond school:
“Pass the parcel boys. That’s sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it, and pass it on. Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day. Pass it on boys. That’s the game I want you to learn. Pass it on”
That’s where we are , right here, right now. The parcel – the baton – is changing hands.
I wish you all the very best for the summer and for wherever life takes you next, university, gap year, apprenticeship or another path. Thank you for making your mark on your school. Good luck – now go out there and absolutely smash it!
SDS
