BSKL celebrates academic excellence and new beginnings at inaugural Key Stage 4 awards assembly

The aim of this awards assembly was twofold. Firstly, it was to recognise and award those students who were the top performers from the 2024 annual exams. It is important to recognise these students and celebrate their exceptional academic achievement. Well done to all who received an award.

As well as this, it was an opportunity to welcome our Year 10 students and parents to their IGCSE years and the journey they are embarking on. Furthermore, we also wanted to acknowledge our Year 11 students and parents who are entering into their final IGCSE year and prepare them for what is set to be a challenging but rewarding year ahead.

The theme of this inaugural assembly was ‘journeys’ and Dr Geddes, our Deputy Head of Academic, shared his personal journey with the parents and students. Please find his inspiring speech below:

Good morning, parents, teachers and pupils. It is my great pleasure to welcome you and to lead this morning’s award ceremony.

We  are here this morning to recognise the Academic Excellence of our Year 10 and Year 11 pupils. Shortly we will be handing out awards to those that have gained the highest academic achievement of their year group for the subjects they are studying. These awards are specifically for the unambiguous category of pupils that came top in the annual or mock exams, or equivalent test, towards the end of last year. 

We are rightly here to celebrate pupils’ exam successes. We celebrate the progress of pupils throughout the year including at the end of Y9 and Y10. Exam outcomes though, become the focus for KS4 and hence the awards ceremony today. 

It is important to think about what all these awards mean for both the pupils that will gain awards, and, those that won’t be coming up here today during this celebration.

One’s academic path starts off through school, continues on through university and potentially even further if you were to take professional qualifications. Throughout this path there are junctions consisting of award events like today, and of course, examination results. Every one of these junctions is a potential gateway to the next stage of one’s journey. Earlier outcomes become less important once you have moved on to the next stage. GCSEs lay the foundation for A-level. A-levels are the qualifications that predominantly get you into university (there is some small reflection on the GCSE results, but mainly the A-levels grades are your entry ticket). Your university qualification will in part get you your first job. By that stage A-levels become more of a footnote for employees in their consideration. And your second job is typically gained from your achievements in your first job.

Why do I mention this path? Well for one thing it means that no one set of results necessarily defines you. It also means that you can never rest on your laurels, you always need to be learning, striving to do better and contributing more to whatever endeavour you pour your heart into. You can gain value from these milestones such as today irrespective of the results.

Though academic awards have literal value, say in terms of exams grades on a certificate…their real meaning, their real power, comes from within, from the reflection and relevance you personally decide to put on these events. Results and awards or lack thereof don’t necessarily define you, though they might. What you make of gaining awards, gaining exam results, or, not gaining them, is ultimately defined by yourself, if you take the time to reflect on the event. And this is a gift as you have control over whether and how you reflect on anything.

I share a short story about a set of results that had huge meaning, to me. My results. My A-level results specifically. In many ways it has been my A-level results that have defined me the most. Not my First Class degree. Not even my winning a scholarship for my PhD, but my A-level results. And this wasn’t because they were so amazing. Far from it. I achieved the lowest A-level result in my entry year group at Durham University for my Psychology course - the most competitive course at the time in the UK. 

I had been in the position that many of you will be in today - in that I would regularly sweep up at award ceremonies. I was proud of this, though I never reflected much on their meaning. 

I fully expected to be on track for the 4 A grades that I had been predicted (the highest you could get at A-level at that time). Alas when the day came, I got significantly lower than those 4 A grades, indeed there wasn’t an A in sight. I was gutted.  I scraped into my place at Durham University but then the reflection began. 

I decided that those grades weren’t going to define me. And I set about doing everything I could to discover how to do better. How does one really learn really effectively? I discovered many skills that have since allowed me to do so much better in multiple careers than if I hadn’t taken that time to reflect on that academic event.  

Ultimately that reflection drove me to become a teacher both of adults and of children, and it has inspired me to pass on those very same learning skills to pupils. Those skills lead me to get a First Class degree (top of my year – a considerable contrast to the bottom of the year that i started at), to get a sponsored PhD and to become a genuine lifelong learner. And it was only because I decided to place significant relevance on my lack of success at the time of my A-levels, by reflecting on them and giving my own meaning to the event.

I believe the pupils at BSKL are exceptionally lucky. They have supportive, engaged parents & dedicated, passionate, exceptional teachers. They are given the learning skills they need to drive their own successes. They learn with a truly wonderful group of fellow pupils that they can take inspiration from.

So, why are we having this celebration at this time of the Academic Year? The start of Y10 and of Y11 is a key milestone in any pupil’s academic journey. For Y10s they are moving beyond Key Stage 3. They are starting on a two-year journey, the outcome of which will leave them with external exam results that will be publicly declare-able to future employees and form part of your application to universities. Year 11s are a significant way through that two-year journey. You have covered more than half of your course content. Celebrating academic success at this time provides the right focus for all of us at the start of Years 10 & 11. It is an important reflection point.

We will shortly turn to give out the awards for the fantastic achievements of our pupils. I encourage all of you to make today count. To reflect carefully on what this day can mean for you, whether you have won an award or not. Huge congratulations go to those who have won the awards. This is an academic milestone for you. You have proved yourself at this important time on your journey and set yourself up for future success. Reflect on it appropriately.

For everyone in Y10 & Y11, be kind to yourself and each other and set a goal to take on board all the school has to give you, to set you up for future outstanding achievements of all forms.

After the awards were presented, we were then treated to a wonderful closing speech by our Head Student for the Be Ambitious strand, Matthew Oswald. Please find his speech below: 

In my role, I have the pleasure of being able to see this value of being ambitious across several contexts. It can be found in students attending CCAs related to subjects they are passionate about. It can be found in students representing BSKL in competitions. It can be found in the classrooms and corridors of BSKL. And it can be found in this Theatre. 

However, when we talk about being ambitious in Key Stage 4, we can sometimes notice a shift in what this means. Is being ambitious in Year 7 the same as being ambitious in Year 11? 

For example, in Year 10 and Year 11 we become more aware of the external measures of success. We maybe think a bit more about our grades and we can seem more serious than we used to. It can also start to feel like every assessment is more important and we can’t help ourselves from looking ahead to university. 

IGCSEs are a steppingstone to the future, a first stair on the path you wish to take and are designed as such. Ambition in KS4 often presents itself more clearly and in a more focused way. Students find their niche and their strengths. Maybe you realise that you are really good at time management. Or that you really enjoy that one bio topic that all of your friends hate. You will definitely discover the joy of “getting it” after trying for a long time to understand a subject. 

Resilience is the key factor in KS4. You will encounter challenges - both academic and social. You are likely to mess them up, trust me on that. But also trust me that persistence in the face of such errors is the key to your success. Your teachers are here to support you because they believe in their students and want all of you to succeed. Use their feedback and their suggestions, they’ve seen most of it before.

Time, and time management, also becomes a really important factor in KS4. In year 9, at least for me, everything felt busy and packed, yet barely a month into year 10 I looked back on year 9 and was jealous of how much free time I had. Time, and how you use it, is an essential part of achieving your ambitions. No doubt whatever method you choose will work for you. Just make sure that you choose a method.

All of you before me have what it takes to do well in whatever subject you choose to pursue, whatever path you choose to take. IGCSEs can feel terrifying, new, imposing, intimidating, they can even seem impossible. Yet I also have no doubt that when you look back on KS4 in years' time, you will be overwhelmed with nostalgia when you think how far you’ve come. These two years are an opportunity for all of you to try things out, to see what takes your fancy and explore each of your individual preferences and strengths. The last message I’d like to leave you with today is a gentle reminder that failing is an essential part of growth. Nothing that’s worth having can be accomplished without any effort. Expect to make stupid mistakes, expect to mess up something you’ve been worried about, expect to miss your homework deadlines at some point, because all of us did... at least once (tone change), but most importantly remember to get back up, that being ambitious isn’t about being flawless, it’s about resilience and persistence. Afterall, education is about learning and growth, not perfection.

These speeches perfectly encapsulate what it means to be a BSKL student, embodying our values and ultimately striving for happiness and success. 

We are so proud of all our Key Stage Four students and wish them all a happy and successful year ahead. 

Photos by Vitória, Year 13