School days are to be treasured. They are filled with experiences that shape who you are and who you will become. They are the foundations of your most cherished memories not just because of the fun, but because they help to you to understand the world around you and each experience is a stepping stone to your future.

I asked a handful of your brilliant daughters what their best bits were and what they will remember the most from this year. It will come as no surprise that for many, their highlights haven’t been the answers they wrote in maths, or the poem they composed in English. Their highlights are the small intricacies of daily life at school and this is what makes school days so special.

For Isabella in Reception, it was meeting new friends. Not just the other girls in her class but all of the girls from across the whole school who have got to know her so well. And as for Year 1, amongst their extra special highlights was welcoming Etta into their class and the fun they have had getting to know her.

Friendship is one of the greatest lessons you can learn in school. Even greater than long division. Yes, Mr Blenkinsop, you heard me.

This year, we’ve seen hands held when knees were scraped, games created in the gardens, and enough shared laughter to power the whole school if it were electricity.

Friendship is learning to take turns, say sorry, and forgive—even when someone accidentally spills their juice onto your lunch. It’s about finding your people—the ones who cheer you on when you win and stick by you when you don’t.

And let’s be honest, the world could use a lot more of that.

In speaking to the girls, I learnt that after every lunchtime, Mrs Wakeley spends some time talking to Year 1 about kindness and finding out what kind acts have occurred during their playtime such as when Sophia helped Isabella up when she fell and checked she was ok.

Kindness might just be the most important subject we teach—and the one that truly matters in every classroom, every outdoor space, and every friendship.

Kindness is offering the last piece of popcorn or cucumber stick. It’s letting someone else go first. It’s saying, “Are you okay?” and really meaning it.

This year, I’ve seen you help each other up, share your stationery, despite how precious your Smiggle pencils are. I’ve seen you include someone new, and listen when someone needed to talk. Those moments matter just as much as any lesson. Maybe more.

Because one kind act, even as simple as a smile, can change someone’s whole day. And a school full of kindness? That can change the world.

This year has been filled with challenges—some big, some small. Whether it was learning your times tables, writing your first story, trying to spell the word “because” (which really should have fewer letters), or remembering where you put your cardigan, and some of you are still probably trying to remember that now, but every single one of you has tried. Really tried.

And that’s what matters. Effort. Showing up. Giving it a go. Because as we all know, you don’t have to be the best. You just have to do your best.

The real prize isn’t just what’s on the table today—it’s in the determination you’ve shown, the questions you’ve asked, and the “aha!” moments that lit up the classroom like fireworks. Those are worth more than any trophy.

When I look around at the girls in this room today, I see future artists, engineers, explorers, inventors, poets, and peacemakers. Some of you might go on to build robots. Some of you might write books that make people laugh or make people cry. Some of you might discover something no one else in the world has thought of yet.

You see, learning isn’t just about getting answers right or finishing a worksheet. Real learning—the exciting, messy, magical kind—is about wondering, exploring, imagining, and growing. And the wonderful thing is, there is no limit to what you can learn, or who you can become.

Some people think that being clever means being good at spelling or times tables. But here’s the truth: cleverness comes in so many forms.  You might be brilliant at making up stories, or solving problems, or noticing how others feel.You might love making things, or asking questions like, “Does the hole in a ring doughnut really exist?” or “Can we invent a chocolate-powered car?” or maybe those are just the questions that keep me awake at night!

Imagination is your superpower. It lets you turn a cardboard box into a spaceship (or a fortress like I did when challenged by Mr Blenkinsop in assembly a few weeks ago), a stick into a wand, and a rainy afternoon into an adventure. And it will certainly take you further than Google Maps ever will.

Never lose that. The world needs curious minds and big imaginations—people who look at things not just as they are, but as they could be. Scientists, artists, inventors, storytellers—they all start with a curious question and a spark of “What if?”

So keep wondering. Keep dreaming. And never be afraid to let your imagination run wild—even if it sometimes runs straight into a wall.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.
If you love building things, build.
If you love dancing, dance.
If your imagination takes you to space, don’t stop at the moon—go beyond.
If you don’t yet know what you love—explore. Try. Be brave.

Sometimes people will try to put your potential into a neat little box. But people aren’t boxes—and your future isn’t something that can be ticked off on a list. It may seem like a long way off but your future starts today and it will be a great, big, wild, exciting journey.

To the grown-ups in the room, let’s not be so quick to measure children only by what they can recite or recall. Let’s measure them by their ideas, their effort, their joy, their resilience, their smile.

Let’s not limit their potential by what we think they should be good at as every child is capable of greatness—in their own way, in their own time.

Let’s open doors to help them discover who they could become.

Let’s value the creative just as much as the correct and nurture the spark in all of our girls to help them grow into something bright, something bold, and something unstoppable. Because a girl who believes there are no limits to her learning is a girl who believes there are no limits to what she can do.

Let’s build an environment where every girl feels free to explore, to take risks, to ask impossible questions—and to know that learning doesn’t stop at the end of the school day.

Let’s show our girls that they don’t need to be perfect. They just need to be curious, courageous, and kind.

Let’s remind them that they are not preparing to be someone—they already are someone. And they are already enough.

So as we close this school year, let’s celebrate not just what has been achieved, but what’s possible. Let’s keep asking, What if? Let’s keep believing in the magic that lives in each child. And let’s remind them—and ourselves—that potential has no limit, no ceiling, and no final chapter.

To our junior girls, you might be small, but your ideas are not.
You have voices worth hearing. You have thoughts that could change the world.
And the most exciting part is—you’re only just getting started.

So please don’t ever think there’s only one way to be “smart”.
Don’t let fear of getting it wrong stop you from trying something new.
Don’t let the world put you in a neat little box and say, “This is what you can do.”
Because the truth is—you can do anything.

To our prize winners—congratulations! Shortly you’ll be recognised for your incredible efforts.

To those who aren’t receiving a certificate today—please remember, you are all winners because success isn’t always measured by awards. Sometimes, it’s just making it through a tricky day with a smile. And that, too, deserves applause.

To our teachers and staff—thank you for your energy, your patience, and for knowing just how to make learning magical.

And to our parents—thank you for trusting us with your most precious little humans.

Kate Millichamp
Head of Junior School