Unconquered Peaks

Well, if you ask me, it’s been a long year, but the sun is shining and it’s the last day of school. So, what better way to celebrate then by looking at all of the familiar characters we see around us on Speech Day.

Though, I do know we’re all tired, so I’ll keep this one short and sweet. The only thing standing between us, and summer now is a few hours of Speech Day!

Award Winners

• Their parents are their watching, and they don’t know how to feel about it.
• They suddenly become very conscious of how they go up and down stairs when they go to collect their awards.
• The worst part: giving the trophy back. Suddenly all you get is glory, which is great but let’s face it, we all want something to brag about when we win an award.

Speech Day performers

• The most hectic week of the year.
• I pity us, we have to do the ceremony twice. The Year 7-11s in particular are frustrated, they would be able to leave early. But no, the life of a performer is a busy one.
• Props to you if (like me) you’ll be wearing a costume that was fine in winter, but the summer’s heat might lead to your death. I see you.

Year 11s

• The big kids of ceremony 1, they don’t really know how to feel about it all.
• The students moving to other Sixth Forms will be realising that they’re leaving WHS, with mixed emotions.
• It breaks up the mega Summer Holiday a bit and marks the ‘official’ start of summer.

Year 13s

• The realisation is probably hitting that school is over and now it’s onto the big, wide world.
• There will probably be tears, but it wouldn’t be Speech Day ceremony 2 without them.
• They may even be bringing some Year 12s to tears, who knows.

Year 7s

• They’re lucky, no need to sit through Speech Day for them.
• They are probably looking at the Year 12s with them in Period 1 and 2 thinking “wow, I’ll be like them one day”. Or at least, that’s what the Year 12s hope they’re thinking…

Parents

• They mumble along to the school song in the hopes that it will end soon. It won’t. We have 4 more verses to go. <3
• They’re the parents of award winners. Or Year 13s. Either way pride levels are sky high, definitely worth taking a morning off work for.
• Students with their parents there are either loving it (they get a ride home) or super embarrassed (why on earth does my mother want to take a picture of me? Does she really have to?)
• My sincerest apologies go to anyone who are watching children in two different ceremonies. That can’t be too fun…

And with that, the year is up, and you’ll have to wait until September for my next article (utterly tragic, I know). But, just like Lady Whistledown (I have been struck by a renewed Bridgerton obsession, I must confess), I’ll be back and better than ever, but unfortunately with much less biting gossip. I hope you all have brilliant summers, and to the Year 13s leaving us, good luck! You’ll be brilliant!

All this being said, I have to say I do love Speech Day. The sense of Wimbledonian Spirit is at its highest today, don’t you think? It’s definitely always worth it. Thank you so much to all the people who made it happen this year!

This time, in honour of this school year, here is my definitive (and tooooootally authoritative) ranking of every restaurant that WHS students go to on the last day of school.