On Saturday, Windermere School hosted its 154th annual prize day, an opportunity for the school community to celebrate the events and successes of the past school year.
Dr Mike Dwan, the Chairman of the Board of Governors, opened the proceedings with his address, during which he outlined the programme of improvements taking place at the school, including the new Art Centre at Elleray; the new IT Centre at Browhead; and the brand new all-weather pitch at Browhead, something to which the whole school will have access; and the planned upgrade of the sports hall. He also highlighted the school’s best ever results in last year’s International Baccalaureat, as well as the school’s outstanding results in last year’s GCSEs, where 95% of the grades were A* to C.
Ian Lavender, Headmaster at Windermere School, followed Dr Dwan, recognising the achievements of the students over the course of the last twelve months and thanking the staff and the board of governors for their unwavering commitment to the school.
Following the opening speeches, the students were called up to receive their prizes, recognition of their efforts and achievements in school. The presentation began with the external awards, including Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Awards for Elizabeth Linane and Josephine Fadani; a Gold Certificate for Julia Sojka in the 2017 UK Senior Mathematical Challenge; and a Level 4 Diploma in Music Performance for Martha Boggon.
The lower and middle school (Years 7-11) academic prizes, awarded for high effort and academic attainment throughout the year, were next on the agenda, followed by the lower and middle school open prizes. These cover all areas of the curriculum and recognise individual effort and attainment.
Once the presentation of the lower and middle school prizes had concluded, the Sixth Form took centre stage. This followed the same format, with the presentation of academic and effort prizes, followed by the individual open prizes.
Before the presentation of the eagerly anticipated whole school open prizes, the students’ endeavours in sport were rewarded. Prizes included all round success in Junior Sport, awarded to Lucy Ferguson; the Tweedale Cup for Excellence in Games, awarded to Head Boy, Thomas Whitehead; and the Individual All-Round Sports Cup, awarded to Abigail Dickson. Other prizes include kayaking, cross-country running, athletics, tennis, cricket, football hockey, netball and basketball.
The presentations finished with a number of open prizes including the John Halstead ‘Extra Mile’ Award , awarded to Emily Raasch; the Nicholson Shield, awarded to Lucy Gale for her extensive contribution to the school community; the Derek Scott Cup, awarded to Robert Cooper for meeting every challenge with courage and good humour; and the International Prize, awarded to Robert Chen. Robert arrived in the UK in 2004 unable to speak any English, but overcame every obstacle in his path, eventually becoming Head Boy (in 2016), something the headmaster, described as “an immeasurable achievement”.
The final two prizes, and the only two prizes which remain closely guarded secrets, were the Inter-House Endeavour Cup and the Headmaster’s Prize.
The Inter-House Endeavour Cup is awarded to the house which fares best in all inter-house events, including sport, debating, performing arts and chess. This year’s winning house was Cavendish.
The Headmaster’s Prize is considered to be the most prestigious. By Mr Lavender’s own admission, this was not an easy choice.
He said, “I start with a list of every pupil in the school, which, after much deliberation, I was able to narrow down to a final three. This year’s final three were hard to separate, and it boiled down to one singular activity; studying Latin out of school hours.”
The recipient of this year’s Headmaster’s Prize was Sophie Batten, who, as well as studying Latin, has achieved remarkable academic results, sings in the school choir, plays the flute, represents the school at sport and performs on stage.
The final speeches were delivered by the Head Boy and the Head Girl, Thomas Whitehead and Ella Handy, who thanked the staff, friends and family for helping the pupils to become better versions of themselves, and for Mr Lavender’s advice of “opting in, not out, and grabbing opportunities”.