Speech day, as always, proved a fitting occasion to celebrate the successes and achievements of individuals and the whole school. And what a year it has been – a year eloquently summed up by this year’s Head Boy Cayo Sinclair in his “most brilliant speech”.
The Headmaster Ian Silk, in his speech, spoke about the importance of resilience. Of how, “To succeed, we: boys, teachers, all of us, need to build resilience. We are more likely to enjoy success and life if we continue to work hard, learn from the occasional failure or mistake, and use knockbacks to sustain us and give us the belief to become stronger.”
He urged boys to “…keep going, persevere, even when it feels difficult, and never give up.”
This year, our Guest of Honour was John Holland-Kaye, our Chair of the School Governors, who was delighted to join us to celebrate the boys’ amazing achievements.
Mr Holland-Kaye spoke to the boys about the world of business and how it is very different to what is often shown. “It [business] is really about bringing people together, getting the best out of people and seeing opportunities. The people who rise to the top are not always the people who do the best at school. They are very often the people who do best at bringing people together and have good personal skills.” He explained, “And that is why the wider curriculum at Bedford is so important, and it is not just about academic excellence.”
He told the assembled boys, “You have all the skills here that will allow you to be successful, if you have energy and enthusiasm, and if you work hard and have a bit of luck.”
Speech day was also an opportunity to bid farewell to our Y8s. In doing so, Mr Silk wrapped up speech day with a quote from Nelson Mandela, “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”
He concluded, “Our Y8 boys have climbed one hill and have reached the summit, and they now move on to a new beginning and a new hill. Take time, boys, to enjoy the vista. Congratulate yourselves on what you have achieved -not just Y8, but all boys – and look forward to the challenge of scaling the next hill. This is what Speech Day is all about.”
