Hello everybody, good afternoon and welcome to this year's leavers assembly.
There is an old well known saying that the human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public. For that reason, I have written my speech out today.
It has been a funny old year in lots of different ways and I'm only glad that we have been able to welcome Year 6 parents to this event, which I know is always an important one for the children and their families as they say their farewells to the primary school that they have come to love so much.
Today is a day to look back on not just the last nine months or 12 months for these children in Year 6, but also, for many of them, going back to their days in Reception and even in nursery. We have calculated that about 11 of them actually started with us in pre-school and this happy band of comrades have formed really strong bonds with each other over their seven year journey here at Crescent. To their enormous credit, this original group have also remained welcoming ambassadors for all of the new children who have joined us along the way. Two of these children, Ayla and Esther, have only been with us for the last term or so and yet they have become very much a part of the group and made to feel welcome in every possible way.
Year 6 is a time when you are top of the tree and you have a special role to play in the school. I remember imagining as a child that whatever you experience now, when you are young, is likely to happen many more times in the future. This only seemed logical.
On that theme, I remember one child at the beginning of the current pandemic saying to me ‘What are lockdowns like Mr Thackway?’ They thought we probably had them quite often, every now and again. They were really surprised when I told them I had no idea and there hadn’t been one before in my lifetime.
The truth is, it's not often that you will spend so long in one place, either in education or in work and come to the position when you are the eldest and most senior people there. So it's really important that Year 6 children have that experience, as it gives them such a boost in confidence and self-belief as they move towards their secondary schools. Believe me, that is self-believe you are going to need as next year you will become the small fry in a big pond once again.
With this in mind, I do remember a conversation with Mrs Webb back in September when we wondered how the children in this year’s class would be able to fulfil that role with all of the restrictions that we had to put in place. As you know, we haven’t been able to allow some of the monitor duties or lunchtime playleaders or buddying up with the new Reception children.
So this has been a real challenge for Year 6 and one you have passed with flying colours. We've all had to find new ways of doing things and you have set a great example to us all, redefining how you can still be leaders in the school even with restrictions in place. You have done this by the example that you have set in the classrooms and the corridors, in the playground and in the common-sense way you have approached all of the trials and tribulations of the year. I know that the other children in the school think the world of you and they all look up to you just as they should look up to the eldest children.
Again, the entrance exams for secondary schools have been different this year their dates have been moved this way and that and the exams themselves have changed. But you haven't let this phase you, you have got on with things sensibly, calmly, responsibly and come back into school on Monday mornings with a smile on your face and a willingness to get down to your work but have a joke and a laugh at the same time.
That is really what has defined you in my mind as a year group and whilst this will always go down as the year of the pandemic, this will in fact raise you up in our minds, it will give you a special status as we remember and reflect on the impact of the Class of 21.
Back in 2017 you were in Year 3 and I was new to the school as the head. I set you a task at that time to rewrite the old school promise and think about what sort of people we wanted ourselves to be.
As you will know, we divided this into three important areas; good learners, good friends and good citizens. I hope as you reflect on your time here you can feel proud of the qualities that you have developed in all of these areas.
Learners? You have made such tremendous progress. When I look at the work that Year 6 routinely produce now, it fills me with pride. They are well prepared for all of the educational demands that will be made of them in Year 7 and beyond.
Good friends? Absolutely. They've been friends to one another, but also friends to the other children in the school, as well as to the adults. They look after each other, care for each other, want the best for each other and they show this everyday of their time here.
For your yearbook, you all had to answer the question: What has my time in Crescent taught me? I thought that might be a good test, so here’s a few answers that I liked:
- Always be kind and use good manners
- Be a responsible and caring person
- Anyone can be your friend and then everyone is different.
- It's like a second home where my friends are there for me
- I can always rely on my teachers to help me if I have a problem.
- Work hard but have lots of fun
- Grab every chance you can take
- Be happy and have nice manners
- Never give up always try your best
And one final one, a pearl of wisdom from Isaac that will ring true down the ages for all pupils, both past and present:
Work hard and make sure you can tie your own shoe laces
The final part of the school promise is to be a good citizen. We have a duty as a school to send you out ready to do the work, able to get along with one another, but also to know you have responsibilities beyond the school gate in the wider world. These range from the very big to the very small, from creating a sustainable future for all, to valuing all people equally, regardless of creed or colour but also to seemingly small things like good manners, kindness and respect for one another.
I believe that you are well set to be good citizens of the 21st century and that everything that you have learned here will sustain you in years to come and make you not only a successful and happy person but also a person with a conscience and a desire to be a force for good in a changing world.
I started this afternoon with a well-known joke and I will finish with a fable, The Story of the Starfish.
When you are young you see the problems in the world and you think; What can I do to help? I am so small and the world is so big. Well I hope this story gives you an answer.
An old man was walking along the seashore at dawn following a terrible storm. He was shocked to see 10s and 10s of thousands of starfish stranded on the beach, as far as the eye could see. The great storm had washed them all ashore and now the burning sun was starting to rise in the sky.
Ahead of him, he noticed a young man who was stooping and picking up the stranded starfish from the beach and throwing them back into the water.
Old man (to the young man): Why are you doing that?
Young man: If I don’t, they’ll be stranded and the heat of the sun will kill them.
Old man: But the beach goes on for miles and there are millions of starfish. What difference does it make?
The young man stooped, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea.
Young man: Well, it makes a difference to that one.
Being a good citizen starts with the small things, because together we can change the world.
So Year 6, be good citizens, and make a difference wherever you can.
