St Leonard’s Head Boy Speech
Younger Hall, 2006
Louise Easton, Head Girl:
Chairman, Headmaster, Mr Provan, Ladies and Gentlemen, St Leonards pupils,
Memories are like butterflies, they are unique everytime. You can watch them for hours or they flit by in seconds. Every person will see them differently whether it’s a laugh here, a look there or a cry in the distance. No matter what, they are unforgettable. Some things fade with time, but memories won’t. A smell, a voice, a taste will bring them back.
I shall, along with a few other classmates, ever use the word ‘nice’ as ‘nice is not a nice word girls’ – drilled into us by Mrs Constable. However, when I say the words ‘strawberry laces’, instead of the usual yummy feeling that should accompany such a phrase, fractions appear in front of my eyes – courtesy of Mrs Gifford, my U2 teacher. So there you have it, sweets are a learning tool, not just bribery as I’m sure Mr Lang would agree. The Milky Ways are in the top drawer for future reference!
The words, ‘I must, I must, I must improve my…’ well I am sure you know the rest, will either send a shiver down your spine, a fear only a St Leonards pupil will be able to feel or bring back a smile that is missed, a sense of understanding of the word ‘commitment’.
Changes are on-going in the St Leonards community. For me it started when I enrolled here, when my class consisted of Alyson, not only my class but the entire year group was Alyson. As the longest serving pupil here today she has seen all of the changes, probably one of the most memorable being the grand entrance of the boys.
Andrew Bradley, head boy:
Life at St Leonards is always eventful, often unexpectedly so, exhausting on occasion, but never dull.
It certainly wasn’t dull when Andrew Johnston, Stewart Mackenzie Shaw, Robert Torrance and I arrived six years ago, ready to embark on our secondary schooling. Ready to assume our position as the first four boys ever to enter the Upper Fourth? I’ll let you decide.
Were we like excitable children at Janetta’s ice cream counter, spoilt for choice and practically salivating at the prospect? Or perhaps the phrase ‘bull in a china shop’ springs to mind?
Suffice it to say, on finding ourselves in this brave new world, we were both overjoyed and overwhelmed. Within a few weeks, however, those walking their dogs on the East Sands, the school’s well-trodden cross country track, had come to expect hairy legs among the customary display of Alice bands and ponytails.
Before long, our boisterous bellows were harmonising with the girls’ dulcet tones, the odd seagull’s cry and, of course, the P.E. department’s tuneful shouts of encouragement. In short, the unprecedented had taken place and it had done so swiftly.
Members of the less fair sex had been inducted into St Leonards and most, if not quite all, of its weird and wonderful ways.
Louise:
Many of you are sitting here in school uniform today; as an U6th we have the privilege of wearing our own clothes but trust us – we have done our time. The haunting feeling of that top button pressing against your neck as the shirt and jabot, green and white stripes, cut off your normal breathing pattern and the look of Miss Claydon, automatically drawn to that point and to the, hopefully for you, polished black shoes and perfect hair, still stays with us.
Andrew:
Standards were as high then as they are now – and ever have been - but expectations seem to have varied somewhat at first. To quote a school advert from yesteryear, ‘St Leonards girls will be doctors, writers, barristers, actresses, musicians, biologists, designers, journalists, entrepreneurs…’ No change there then: high achievers and highly talented. But ladies and gentlemen, that’s not quite the full picture. For one can only truly appreciate how exhaustive the girls’ list is by juxtaposing it with the next line, the punch line of the advert. It states simply: ‘boys will be boys.’
The presence of boys and male staff opened up new opportunities such as a coach for the boys football team. Although not entirely successful throughout the season, at last the victory over the staff came, well deserved!
So to the Head Girl and her half of the school, I offer my congratulations in anticipation. Echoing Peter Torrance, who encouraged you to break through glass ceilings in his speech as Head Boy, today I, too, urge you to keep your aspirations high. As for the boys, I have a slightly different challenge. Our list is empty, our canvas blank and we must fill it with colourful occupations and - lest we forget the spirit of service so central to our ethos - good deeds as well. In other words, let’s make the school proud of its first male Seniors.
Louise:
And I wish to say good luck to Andrew and the rest of the ‘less fair sex’ who started small but have multiplied greatly into strapping young lads. I am sure they will achieve great things and not one of them will turn out to be ‘just a boy’.
To the rest of St Leonards pupils, make the most of what you have, live every moment to the full. Your school days will fly by so quickly and soon you will follow in our footsteps, across this stage. You all have exciting times ahead of you, think of what you are trying to achieve and use the time to make everlasting memories.
Andrew:
Next year, through the introduction of the IB, community service will once more closely coalesce with curriculum and a sure-fire reality will be embraced: St Leonards has been an international school for some time now.
In my year alone, the ‘catchment area’ extends to such far-flung climes as Trinidad and Tobago and as far north as Aberdeen. In fact, come to think of it, we can even lay claim to a Trinidadian-Aberdonian.
And Ainé Costelloe is not the only reason why I think that our school is unique. The ratio of teddy bears to pupils is also unique, as are the meetings of the Headmaster’s Society, a mix of lofty discussion, astute analysis and – my personal favourite - Mrs Tims’s exceedingly good cakes.
Not to mention the sub-warden of Ollerenshaw who would be sure to knock Davina McCall out of the keep-fit charts, if only he were to market a video of his aerobics workout. What is a school without characters and quirks?
Kaleidoscopically arranged in different combinations, they will mould our most enduring memories. Thus if two of Mrs Macintyre’s former Biology pupils were to meet by chance many years from now, the spontaneous greeting of choice would still be: ‘Have you thanked a green plant today?’
Louise:
Mrs Steele’s stories will never be forgotten, as the Spanish students will always know to be careful when using the word ‘comb’ and the awful jokes, yes Dr Mac I am referring to the one about jelly babies, will always leave us confused. Ultimate Frisbee with Mr James, dare I say hammer throw, and the wonderful concerts with Mrs Boulton. Champsey…?? Every single teacher has had an influence, allowing us to learn in our own way with much guidance and support. I would like to thank everyone for getting us through to this point.
Andrew:
Schooling is never an end in itself after all: always a means to greater ends. So I conclude by thanking my fellow leavers for being such an eclectic, eccentric and entertaining year with whom to share an education that’s been all bar dull over the last six years. They can’t bear to see us go, but our time has come – our turn to form the next generation of St Leonards Seniors.