The Wyke journey
started for many of you over 2 years ago, when you began the process of
thinking about the “next stage". A
line from "The Clash" comes to mind,
"Should
I stay or should I go…"
Perhaps one
should also add, or “should I go elsewhere".
You then
attended the Open Evenings, Open Saturdays and were interviewed at Wyke. Do you remember who interviewed you? You took your GCSEs and came to Wyke Start. What do you remember about that? Throughout your Year 11 career, if you were
in an 11–18 school, you were probably bombarded with stories and anecdotes
about Wyke. Do you remember what these
were and were they true? Clearly, this
didn't put you off and you walked through the main entrance on that first day
in September.
Full of
trepidation, angst and excitement, you plunged into the sea of experience, were
whisked off to Fort Paull, returned and survived. I hope that you did more than
"survive". I am confident that
you have thrived, grown, matured, worked really hard, had fun and are
fulfilling your potential.
I am so
delighted by the many conversations that I have had with you and I am
continually surprised by your enthusiasm, effervescence and humour. Just today, I talked to a student, J.D., who
said,
"It doesn't matter what your
teacher is like but it is what you put in that counts…".
This young
man has been a model student who "works hard and plays hard". Long may that continue because top employers
want people who communicate well, have lots of interests and are prepared to
"have a go".
As I sit and
write this, many of you are coming out of exams whilst others are working hard
and preparing. Remember what I said to
you if you were in one of my talks, 'have no regrets' and do not leave our
College wishing that you had done more.
Edith Piaf’s song comes to mind:
"Non,
je ne regrette rien…”.
Life is
short and you have to ensure that all that you do is with your full
commitment. Never do anything
half-heartedly. The world is full of
people who either expect things to be done for them or accept that things will
be done to them, and then moan. The most
successful people in life are the ones who take control.
When I think
back to this year, I was thrilled to witness the wonderful talks that I heard
at the hustings for the Student Executive.
I am full of admiration for those of you who stood up in front of your
peers and had the courage to say what you believed in. I was also very pleased to be in the audience
and experience the attentive way in which you listened and encouraged your
fellow students.
This year
has been very successful and already the accolades are coming in: our 1st,
2nd and 3rd XI football teams are league champions: our 4th
team were second in the league to the 3rd team; our 1st
team in netball are the league winners and County Champions for the third year;
our basketball team are the league winners and County Champions; you have won
countless awards in other sports, music, dance and drama. So many of you have won medals in
mathematics, science, poetry and the arts.
Many of you have had amazing offers from the most prestigious
universities, on the most prestigious courses and won places on the
aspirational summer schools through the Sutton Trust. I am sure that you will have noticed the
International Honours board as you come in to our College.
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So very well
done and our own Chris Robinson has said to his faculty, "We are in the
final few minutes of the game and we must remain focused." We all know that games can be won right at
the end.
I would like
to finish with two messages:
·
Remember to enjoy and embrace life and be
‘crazy’. The words from Paul Simon come
to mind,
“I met my old
lover (friends from Wyke)
on the streets
last night,
She (they)
seemed so glad to see me we just smiled;
We talked about
the good times (at Wyke) and we drank ourselves some wine
Still crazy
after all these years."
·
Enjoy the game this Saturday and let's hope that
Hull City achieve success for all of you and the city. (My beloved Leeds have not been in a Wembley
final since the mid-90s).
