Friday 30th May was a day of celebration here at The Worthgate School, as we said a bittersweet farewell to the Class of 2025 in this year’s graduation ceremony.
Our graduating A Level, UFP, IB and GCSE students were joined by staff, family and friends to celebrate this special occasion.
Mrs Liz Jennings, Vice Principal, opened this year’s ceremony with a heartfelt speech welcoming all who had travelled to celebrate, applauding our students for the dedication they had continuously shown.
Dr Ian Gross, Principal, encouraged students to continue to embody the Worthgate Characteristics throughout their life. He reminded students to embrace opportunities to learn beyond academic curriculums at university, in their careers, and wherever those opportunities present themselves. He ended his speech with “Many of you are here, destined for greatness.”
Throughout this celebration, we were lucky enough to listen to a variety of speakers, all thoughtfully contributing pieces of advice, praise and reflections to our departing students. We warmly welcomed our keynote speaker Dr Lorna Thomas – Director of Partnerships, Canterbury Christ Church University – onto the stage and our graduating student Marena, who reflected on her time here with us and all this wonderful year group have achieved.
A tradition of The Worthgate School graduation is to welcome back past students to discuss their own personal journey. This year, alumni Anthony, who graduated in 2015 drew on his experience and gave advice on stepping foot into the world beyond Worthgate.
As our students walked the graduation stage to receive their certificates, they were looking towards their future, with many students crossing the stage twice to receive prices for Outstanding Dedication to Academic Studies, the Worthgate Baccalaureate as well as Elective and Boarding Awards.
Towards the end of the ceremony, the Student Agent for Change award was presented. Betty, Student Council Leader and Captain of Hever House, was the deserving recipient of this award. She went above and beyond with representing The Worthgate School’s characteristics and values during her studies, contributing to the school community in more ways than one.
Graduation wouldn’t be complete without a series of touching performances from our graduates and other students during the ceremony. This year, performances included a handful of solo piano compositions by Melanie, Karina, Yelyzaveta and Tra My, two performances by the Glee Society and a duet by Ilaria and Betty. It’s safe to say that the audience were entertained, and the performances truly highlighted our student’s endless talent.
As this memorable afternoon drew to a close, everyone arrived back at the main campus for an evening of refreshments, entertainment and reflection on their time here at The Worthgate School. The boarding team had set up some traditional British fairground games and students were treated to ice cream and other treats.
In the words of our wonderful student Marena in her touching graduation speech, “Congratulations, Class of 2025. The future starts now.”
