Bishop Ramsey C of E School held their Annual Prize Giving 2023-2024 on Wednesday, June 26th. at the Winston Churchill Hall.
The evening began with a warm welcome delivered by the head students, Evie Allsopp and Eli Sangare, to everyone in attendance. This was followed by an Introduction by the school’s Executive Head, Dr Hilary Macaulay. She began by reiterating that such an event was a wonderful opportunity for the school to celebrate as a whole, not divided into different year groups or Key Stages which illustrated one of the great things about Bishop Ramsey, the genuine community unity. She continued by stressing that the school’s role is far broader than just preparing their young people for exams but preparing them to be good citizens, good employers and good employees, capable of caring and giving. They want to prepare them also to be able to go out into the world and make a real difference, a difference for good.
She went on to say that this year had been a truly exceptional one in terms of co-and extra-curricular opportunities for the students including many trips to art galleries, lectures and the theatre. There was also the sociology and psychology trip to New York, the sociology, RE, politics and psychology trip to Krakow, the RE and Humanities trip tp Naples and the physics trip to the large Hadron collider at CERN in Geneva among many others.
Towards the end of her Introduction Dr Macaulay told the students that they are in charge of their destiny. They have already achieved so much but there is more to be done. She praised the parents present for their support and encouragement without which it would be much harder to achieve and she ended by thanking everyone, including the dedicated staff, who have helped them to achieve what the evening’s event was celebrating.
Before the presentation of prizes the audience was privileged to be entertained by a Musical Item presented by Noah Morris who gave an enchanting solo piano performance of Clair de Lune by Debussy. It was not, therefore, a surprise that he was the recipient of one of the Special Prizes, the St Cecilia Shield for Musicianship KS4/KS5.
Next followed the main event of the evening, the Presentation of Prizes which were presented by Reverend Christine Britton. The prizes were awarded in all the subject faculties and each recipient was introduced by the relevant Head of Faculty. This enabled members of the audience to hear the reasons the student had been nominated and also gave insight into their personality which made the whole experience more personal. The final group to be awarded were the Special Prizes which highlighted what Dr Macaulay stated earlier; the school does not solely feature academia but incorporates the whole person. Hence there were prizes for Courage and Determination awarded to Nedum Nkenke for Championing Diversity and Inclusion awarded to Chiezutem Ugwu and Services to the Community awarded to Safiya Roberts. Drama and Sport are also of a high standard at the school and the shield for Performance in a School Production KS3 was awarded to Emily McGregor and the Michael Udall Prize for Outstanding Sporting Performance All Key Stages was presented to Markus Heymer Legg. Mr Udall, after whom the prize is named, was Headteacher at the school from 1992 until 2002 presented the shield to Markus.
Following the presentations the audience was once again musically entertained with a beautiful rendition of Hallelujah performed by Miranda Baxter and accompanied on the piano by Maressa De Paula.
Finally it was the turn of the evening’s Guest Speaker, Reverend Christine Britton to address the audience.
Noah with the St Cecilia Shield
Emily McGregor
Mr Michael Udall and Markus Heymer Legg
She firstly stated that she loved to hear about all their achievements but then spoke about motivation which keeps us grounded. She also spoke of making important decisions and said her prayer for them was wisdom to make the best decisions for their future. Her words were very well received. Reverend Britton is about to become Rector of St Giles Church in Ickenham and everyone wishes her well in her new venture. She was thanked by the Head Students for her contribution to the success of the evening which ended with a final blessing by Reverend Susy Dand, Chaplain.
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