From School Girl to Woman: A Journey of Growth

Currently the Sixth Form are preparing to say their goodbyes, leaving the tweed blazers and bee badges behind them, as they take their final examinations.  There has been a definite change of atmosphere in the Upper Sixth.  Our Sixth Form centre has turned from the chatty community space we have grown to know over the last year to a fiercely productive hive of activity, students grappling with difficult mathematics problems or trying to remember the dates of key rebellions.  However, all is not sombre, as alongside this we have been preparing for how we will celebrate the end of our time at Farnborough Hill, choosing music for our Leavers' Mass and deciding on prom decorations.  It feels truly bittersweet, saying goodbye to the teachers who have shaped us and the friends who have loved and supported us along the way.  Some of these friends we met by chance in Year 7 when placed next to each other in a seating plan, others we grew to know by taking the same subjects at GCSE or A level.  Friendship can truly be found anywhere at Farnborough Hill. 

I have read somewhere that we are all made of stardust.  It is typically meant as a way of saying we are all made up of something special and beautiful, but it is not just an expression, given about 97% of the elements that make up our bodies originated from stars and supernovas.  It can be quite soothing to think that the elements that make us originated incomprehensibly long ago.  We keep the past with us, while striving for the future.  Our experiences at Farnborough Hill, every thrilling school trip, every challenging test, have been devised to help us develop.  While I struggle to remember the content of the classes I took in Year 7, I remember the lessons I was taught about being patient with myself and the value to be found in making mistakes.  I feel like a vastly different person now to the one I was seven years ago when I first walked up the steps to the main entrance, wearing a blazer that was slightly too big and shoes that were not fully broken in yet.  This school knows how to forge us into confident, hardworking young people that are enchanted by learning, and I would advise anyone to make the most of the wealth of opportunities available to them. 

Having seen the incoming Junior Leadership Team’s Assembly discussing their initiatives, we all feel very excited to pass the baton on to the new group of students that we know will be fantastic role models to the younger years.  They prove that Farnborough Hill is a combination of tradition and innovation by pledging to carry on existing initiatives while introducing brilliant new ideas.  I am looking forward to reading in future newsletters how they are making their mark on a school that means so much to all of us.  Saying goodbye is made that little bit easier by knowing Farnborough Hill will be in their safe hands. 

Charlotte, Head Girl