Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls and a very warm welcome to our Awards Ceremony. May I extend a particularly warm welcome to our guest speaker, Sally Kettle.
I would like, on behalf of the school community, to say a big thank you to our Board of Governors who put in so many unheralded, unpaid, and largely unrecognised hours on behalf of the pupils and the school. Special thanks go to our Chair, Richard Thompson, who is a huge support to the school. Thanks also go to the school’s exceptional senior leadership team, and I am delighted to announce that Mrs Ranger and Mr Parton will be joining this team in the next academic year.
We are a tight knit community in which all the staff work tirelessly to provide a top-class education and top class facilities for the pupils, and for that I am incredibly grateful. My thanks go to all of you.
Throughout the school there is a genuine desire that we provide the best for our boys and girls and as educators, our overriding aim is to prepare our pupils for a life of learning; to instil in them a thirst and desire for knowledge. From our youngest to our oldest children, we watch them buzz and bubble with excitement as learning is presented in an array of interesting and challenging ways, as we know that Mahatma Ghandi couldn’t be more right, ‘The future depends on what you do today.’
I am sure that you will agree, that no apology is required regarding the length of Mrs Mitchell’s Reflections. To make it any shorter, would not do any justice to the hive of daily activity that contributes to an academic year at St. Hilary’s and it is at times like this, that I feel incredibly proud to be your Headteacher.
Throughout all the daily buzz and excitement, our ethos remains the same and our core values underpin everything we do. Our school motto, ‘Non Tibi Sed Omnibus’ (Not for oneself but for all), reinforces St Hilary’s high expectations for our pupils in becoming responsible, valued citizens of tomorrow’s world. Long gone are the days where Prep schools’ sole responsibility was to prepare pupils for their Senior School. Needless to say, it is a considerable responsibility preparing our pupils, the future citizens of the world, to live and work in an uncertain, fast paced world.
Indeed, it would seem, that the days for a job for life are now gone. The World Economic Forum recognised back in 2018, that 65% of pupils of Reception class age would pursue careers in jobs that have not yet been invented and I have no doubt that has since increased. Forbes recently reported that LinkedIn predicts 150 million new technology jobs in the next five years, and almost all of the roles in LinkedIn’s “Jobs on the Rise” report for 2022 can already be done remotely.
Emerging quickly, new jobs are being created. For instance, an AI ethicist is a job title that is beginning to rapidly increase as companies look to deploy AI in an ethical way. The number of people being hired as workplace diversity experts increased by 64%, becoming a significant career path for some. Global citizenship, (including awareness of the wider world and sustainability), innovation and creativity skills, (including problem solving and analytical thinking), technology skills (including data science and programming) and interpersonal skills (including emotional intelligence, empathy, cooperation and social awareness) are all going to be vitally important, according to Forbes.
I was pleased to see “soft” skills such as creativity and interpersonal communication make it onto the list. As machines are able to automate more and more workplace roles, our inherently human social and emotional skills will become hard currency in the workplaces of the future.
At St Hilary’s, we do not stand still and as we prepare our new School Improvement Plan, at the beginning of the next academic year, these areas will have a significant focus. We will, continue to instil soft skills, values and beliefs, as well as the academic and wider curriculum, and a plethora of opportunities.
Of course,
Good, better, best Never let it rest
Until our good gets better and our better gets best.
Has always been an important theme for us.
The children are at the heart of everything we do at School, just as they are in your home. Without doubt, our boys and girls need to be given opportunities to develop resilience. It goes without saying, outstanding pastoral care has never been so important, providing children with a safe scaffold and promoting good mental health. Our expectations are rightly high and the pupils learn at a measured pace with a sense of urgency. However, the boys and girls need to learn to be kind, to themselves, as well as others, so that improvement does not become a burden. Whilst striving for their personal best, it is important they maintain a proportional balance, and it is worth us all remembering that what is important now, will not be important in years to come.
Our Awards Ceremony is a chance to reflect on a year of endeavour, pleasing aspiration and impressive achievement. The prize winners are a representation of everything that we stand for at our school. These articulate young people are an asset to our school, a credit to their families and an inspiration to us all. I am very impressed with the achievements of everyone here today, but you will not be surprised that I am especially in awe of those of you who will be rewarded for effort and progress.
As I bring this speech to a close, I would like a moment to express my gratitude to Mrs Mitchell. An outstanding Deputy Head, and wonderful colleague, she plays a pivotal role in the daily life of the School, the staff, children, their families and wider school community. Thank you for your professionalism, expertise, and kindness, Mrs Mitchell, your constant support and your friendship. It is unparalleled and very much appreciated.
The end of the academic year also marks the end of an immediate association with the school for our Year 6 pupils. It is a special group as our first cohort of boys reach the end of Year 6. We wish them all the very best as they move on to their senior schools, a total of 21. I remember some of you when you were babes in arms: and you have endeavoured, aspired and achieved in so many areas of your lives already. And of course, it is the end of an era for many of our parents who have dropped off at the school gate for many years, and for some who will soon no longer have a school run to do at all!
To all our leavers today, make sure you reach high, full of aspiration, work hard and always find time to have fun and to play. Remember Albert Einstein’s wise words, ‘Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow’. And remember Christopher Robin’s equally wise words, ‘You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.’
Whether you are leaving now for the summer, to return in September, or it is your last few days at our School, it is my wish that you embark on your next adventures in the knowledge that St Hilary’s will be with you wherever you stride.