Words of praise and wisdom as school leavers embark on a new chapter in their lives

Strictly speaking, since students only ever hear it once, I could use the same speech every year.

But instead I like to keep it varied and leave them with some pieces of wisdom among the congratulations and praise for their behaviour and attitude during their time at the school.

However, my main message is always on a similar theme – the need for them to take control of their own lives and be individuals, not always worrying about what their friends think of them, not following the herd.

I also always tell them that they should take chances in life – they will live regret missed opportunities but will never regret trying something that didn’t work out.

Whether they hold onto those thoughts, or forget about them, I don’t know.

But I do know that what they have achieved and experienced at school will influence them for the rest of their lives, for better or worse.

One of the highlights of the assembly is the moment they look back on all the photos of the time with us and they laugh at how young they looked when they were freshly-arrived year sevens.

It is incredible to think how much they have changed in five years, which probably seemed like a lifetime to them but, by contrast, for us staff those five years have passed by with the blink of an eye, but there will still be a lot of emotion among the staff, especially the form tutors, who have shared their school journey with them.

Who knows what the future holds for them?

Some of them you know will be alright and they’re ready for their next chapter, others you worry about a bit and wonder how they will adjust to their new life.

Whatever happens, we wish them well – and we look forward to welcoming more year sevens through the door, ready to start their journey.