Posted on 28 May, 2021 in
6th Form,
About GMS,
Events
On Thursday 27th May, Great Marlow School said goodbye and good luck to our departing Year 13 students.
The occasion was marked by a Leavers’ Breakfast attended by members of staff, Year 13 form tutors and, of course, our wonderful school leavers.
For the first time in a long while the weather was beautiful with barely a cloud in the sky. This break in the weather provided a fantastic opportunity for the students and staff to provide a send-off for Travis Ludlow who embarked on the first stage of his round the world air challenge.
As you may be aware, Travis is hoping to become the youngest person to fly solo around the world in a single-engine plane. His adventure began from Booker Airfield, and he coincided his take off with the beginning of the assembly at 9.30am. All the students in Year 13 were able to stand outside the 6th Form Centre as he provided us with a low, fly-past not once, but twice. The gathered crowd cheered and waved as he passed; we wish his every success with this incredible feat of skill and endurance.
Once the students had gathered in the 6th Form Centre we proceeded to chat and eat the breakfast kindly organised by the school. The event was joyful and relaxing. The 6th Formers were given goodie-bags, with a few gifts to remind them of their time in the 6th Form.
Mr Hollyman delivered a speech, which was packed full of questionable humour and anecdotes about the students over their time in the 6th Form. Finally, the students were treated to a slide show of photos of them over, for some, their seven years of education at GMS.
This year, the students have endured a very challenging time due to the pandemic and the sizeable impact that this has had on their education. It was important that Mr Hollyman’s speech recognised the difficult circumstances that the students were faced with in their final year of formal education. Below are the closing words from Mr Hollyman’s speech which capture the sentiments and feeling of the staff at the school:
“You have demonstrated one of the most precious qualities that you can have: resilience. You have responded to the pandemic with humour, determination, diligence and fortitude, probably surprising yourself in the process.
You have taken the reality that you have been handed and made it better. You were told to get out of the school before Christmas and were not able to return for 4 months. Yet, you are all here; your resilience has got you to this leaver’s breakfast and the end of your Year 13 studies.
I look at all that you have achieved and am proud of the example that you have provided for others; you have earned the right to be proud of your achievements.
I admire and respect you as you have all worked so hard. Please remember, our current troubles will not last but there will doubtless be new challenges ahead for which you are now more than equipped!
One day you will look back and laugh at the past 18 months whilst thriving, succeeding and experiencing all that the newly opened world has to offer.
We would like to congratulate every Year 13 student in completing their final assessments and wish them the very best of luck in their bright futures.”
So, GMS says goodbye to our Year 13s. Most of them entered the school gates seven years ago, straight from primary school, and leave as adults. There have been many, many changes in those years and our students have been an integral part of that story: they will be missed. GMS wishes them every success in their chosen post-18 choices. Please enjoy perusing the collection of photographs below.
You can also view the pictures directly from Flickr here
