School President, Olivia, spoke in front of the school and reflected on her 14 years at Alton. She speaks about her friends, teachers, lessons and most importantly…the memories she will take with her. As the new President will be appointed next week, it is fitting that we share this reflection with you now. Enjoy.
“Mr Guest, parents, teachers and fellow students, it is a privilege to be standing here in front of you all today. Many of my friends say I don’t look nearly old enough to be leaving, however, that time has finally arrived, the last 14 years have been an experience and this experience wouldn’t have been nearly as rewarding without the people who surround me today. Teachers, I thank you for putting up with us, for giving up your valuable time and for never giving up on us, without you we would be lost. To our families who’ve been there for us through thick and thin, celebrating our successes as well as picking us up when we fall and finally to my peers, without you I probably would have managed to get a lot more work done but I would’ve had nearly as much fun.
Many of us came to Alton at different times and for different reasons, for the sports, for the excellent style of teaching, for the location or maybe just because our parents wanted us to. Whatever the reason, we have all come together creating good memories along the way, from our year six trip to France, surviving our field trip to Slapton in Year 11 despite the constant rain, Christmas dinners, the charity sleep out and our all-time favorite trip in the sun in Italy. We have also experienced the hard times together, like when they run out of pesto rolls at break time or when PE surprises you with a cross country run or the far more serious issue of approaching exams. All of this only made our friendship stronger I will always measure my time here not just in the thousands of hours I spent on the premises but in the friendships I have made, and the times we have laughed together.
I know it’s not particularly original to talk about how school has made you the person you are today, but my speech would seem incomplete if it didn’t not least mention the impact Alton has had on my life and the lives of many of the girls here. Yes, it may have taught us to always associate Friday with fish and chips and has made us not forget that is not socially acceptable to randomly pull up our tights outside, but much more importantly it has also taught us the value of comradeship, not to be afraid of failure as those who try and fail achieve more than those who never tried it all, and the mentality that you should always try your hardest whether you are winning or losing. These lessons have made us the people we are today, the kind of people who say yes to new opportunities. If you had told 4-year-old me at the start of reception here to introduce myself to my classmates let alone stand up here today it just wouldn’t have happened. However, thanks to the encouragement and constant support of my teachers I am not afraid to give anything a go.
Being competitive, I have enjoyed every moment on the field and playing with my teammates against other schools, however, I’ve also enjoyed learning and my time spent in the classroom, yes, even A Level physics. Physics lessons have taught me more than just how to solve difficult equations; our favorite questions to Mr Morgan, our physics teacher, was always ‘is it going to get any more difficult?’ the answer to which we found, to our disappointment, was almost always yes. But this has taught me that even though things will get tougher, you are more prepared to face these new challenges as they arrive. I think this is an invaluable lesson for our lives ahead not just in the classroom and even though for some of us the next step is daunting, maybe unknown, always remember that Alton School has given us the skill set, courage and tenacity to embark upon our next adventures.
To me, and I’m sure to many others, education is more than acquiring knowledge and developing the powers of reasoning and judgment. It is the key to freedom, freedom to find your calling in life and freedom to move in whichever direction you choose. This is one of the reasons I’m so grateful to Alton because it has provided us all with this freedom, helped broaden our horizons and has enabled us to pick the path we want to travel.
To the leavers of 2021, good luck in whichever path you have chosen to take. Some of you may not know what you want to do yet and that’s OK you have plenty of time to decide it’s never too late so dive into opportunities, change your mind, never settle and keep striving to learn more as you never finish learning. Eventually, you’ll end up in the right place.
It has also been a privilege to be part of such an entertaining and innovative leadership team, a big thank you must go especially to my two deputies Maddie and Susanna, your support has been invaluable. We started our journey together here in Reception in 2007 and have somehow managed to make it this far with very few hiccups.
To finish I would like to congratulate all of our prize winners today you are exactly what Alton School is about and each and every one of you should be extremely proud of yourselves. A final big thank you again to all my teachers throughout the years I really wouldn’t be where I am today without all your help and support. Thank you everyone and have a lovely summer.”
Watch Olivia’s speech below.
