As is tradition, for my last blog of the year, I want to share with you the address I delivered to our leavers at their Prize Giving last week. The advice offered to our departing Year 13s is applicable to all.
Leavers’ Speech 2025
When called upon to say a few words about this group on their last day of lessons, I thanked them for the unique and very tangible energy they have brought to the school. I have vivid memories of some of you in Year 9 and 10, grouping together for photos, always part of the action, proud of being part of this community – I’m thinking back to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, and to DofE – always smiling. New students joined over the years and brought with them this same spirit of wanting to play their part, to volunteer for things, to make the most of their time here. So, from my perspective, you have brought warmth, smiles, good humour, a lightness and a celebratory feeling.
It is no coincidence then that the theme chosen for this evening’s festivities is the Italian Riviera – we’ve got a holiday vibe going on in the Hive and I guess what we are doing is reflecting that warmth and those sunny dispositions right back at you. And at this point, as I was jotting down ideas for this speech, I asked myself how long I could keep riffing on this ‘Italian Riviera’ theme. I do like a linguistic challenge. So I was thinking: vibrancy, dance, positivity, sophistication, glamour, “La Dolce Vita” – come on; for me, you tick all those boxes.
Then I got stuck on the idea of lemons and lemon groves, I think after seeing Mrs Findlay’s pinterest board, and I thought, yes, I’ve struck gold, the lemon tree is the perfect metaphor for you as a group. If the tree is our school community, you bring moments of brightness, you are balls of sunshine, you convey a zest for life, you are thick skinned and delicate at the same time; And you are sharp, you cut through the proverbial nonsense (some of you are particularly good at that); and you are intelligent, as we’ve just heard in those citations. Did you know that “lemon tart” is the Cockney rhyming slang for “smart”? You do now.
And just to make sure I was squeezing every possible drop of meaning out of this metaphor, I did a quick google search for more contemporary lemon references, which prompted me to remember the TikTok trend “Keep it lemon” (I say, reminded, more like educated but I’m sure this is familiar to most of you). And this is perfect. According to Google, the core meaning of the phrase “keep it lemon” is one of authenticity and self-acceptance. It suggests that you should embrace your true self, even if it means being different or a bit “sour” like a lemon. It’s a call to embrace one’s unique qualities and personality, rather than trying to be something you are not. So there we go: Keep it lemon.
I think this pithy TikTok message, though I hate to admit it, has a lot going for it. Because, as I’m sure you will readily admit, it hasn’t all been blue skies and sunshine over the last few years, and it won’t always be in the future. Notice that my recollections of you at the start of this speech began in Year 9, I’ve deliberately glossed over the COVID years and I know there have been many challenges, both personal ones and challenges you have experienced together – of course there have been.
The learning here for all of you is that you can get through when the going gets tough; you have shown great resourcefulness and this will be hugely significant as you enter the big wide world.
There is an acronym to describe the world you are going into; you may have heard it before. The acronym is: VUCA. V..U..C..A. It stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. You’ll hear people refer to the VUCA world. It sounds scary. There is a lot that will be demanded of you as future leaders, and these demands are changing all the time.
But don’t ever lose heart and remember that generations have come before you, and in fact the advice I am giving you now is the same advice that Miss Fisher, who was head of this school in the 1920s, gave to her leavers as they entered the world in the aftermath of the first world war. I mean, it was exactly the same advice, without the Tik Tok reference obviously. I am not going to repeat her words now as I have quoted her many times before and I want to return to what I was saying at the start about the unique qualities that have typified you as a group.
So, one way to succeed in this world that is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous is to stay grounded – think about that lemon tree. You’ve all done that here. The other way to succeed and stay sane is to invest in your immediate communities. Think not global, but glocal; glocal refers to the interconnectedness of global and local issues; for me, it’s a reminder to contribute to your local community, of the importance of the people and places closest to you, as the starting point for something much bigger. It takes some of the fear factor out of it all. So, put down roots, give back to your communities – wherever those communities may be – university, the workplace, friendship groups. This will always be one by the way: this will be a constant; the community of Brighton Girls. And wherever you go in the future, bring that sunshine, as you have done here. Be those bright flashes of positivity, as you have been here.
And above all, and I couldn’t put it any better myself, “keep it lemon”. Be yourselves. You’ve got this.
And if that doesn’t work, and life gives you lemons (the bad kind)… you know what to do…
Make lemonade.
