Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Saunders, addressing Year 13 students:

“Your sincerity, focus and resilience are a constant source of inspiration Year 13! You deserve every success as you embark on your study leave for your final exams. Keep going towards your Ithaka… Enjoy the beautiful journey.”

As is our tradition, Year 13 were treated to a “Leavers’ Breakfast” and a special poem:

Your Ithaka

As you set out for Ithaka,
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.

You will walk with Zelda, shaping meaning through literature,
Sophia, uncovering forgotten histories,
Anjali, inspiring with ancient wisdom,
Charlotte, explaining the patterns of life,
Moon, revealing the secrets of animals,
Sarah, finding beauty in numbers,
Manon, questioning political theories,
Dahlia, bridging worlds through diplomacy.

You’ll walk beside Skyla, mapping new journeys,
Olha, crossing boundaries between nations,
Rosalind, balancing power with ethics,
Vasylysa, exploring the laws of nature,
Lilliana, giving justice with mercy,
Shreya, reshaping societies,
Naomi, where humanity meets healing,
Anjali, opening minds with liberal feeling.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind,
but don’t hurry the journey at all.
Rich with the lessons you’ve learned and the people you meet,
you’ll understand, by then, what these Ithakas mean.

Inspired by the Odyssey and C.P. Cavafy, bard of an age still to come