Headlines By James Saunders 21st May 2021
Farewell C11 As our cohort 11 learners complete their final assessments this week’s message is dedicated to them all. The last year has been a year like no other. It seems like only yesterday that I first introduced myself to you and now here I am saying goodbye. Over the past year I have really enjoyed getting to know many of you and my only regret is that I did not have more time with you. Time is no longer something any of us will take for granted. Living through a pandemic has forced us to focus on the little things and to realise what is important in life. I have been in awe of you all in how you have stepped up to the challenges we have faced. You are unique in that you have gone through an education like no other cohort. And you nailed it - well done. I would like to thank you all for the lovely welcome you gave me when I first arrived at the school and for the effort and enthusiasm you have demonstrated over the last academic year. You exit the school during a period of flux and change and enter the world with a resilience forged in your own sweat, tears and determination. Few will be able to compete on your level when you are at the top of your game. Every day I am impressed with your maturity; your enthusiasm; your commitment to being a Honywood learner. Learning, in its purest sense, is not something that we switch on and off when we get to school - your brain, your capacity to learn is always there. Your whole life has been a learning experience up to this point and it will continue long after you have left Honywood. Preparing to be a lifelong learner is really what school is about. I hope that you leave with an understanding of who you are: your strengths and your weaknesses; your successes and your failures; your achievements and your mistakes. I hope that you have been able to own all of these and in that ownership have achieved a greater understanding of who you are. And it is in understanding who you are as an individual and taking ownership of the choices you make that you will be a successful lifelong learner.
Happiness and success are central to a healthy life and our aim at Honywood has always been to equip you with both. Neither can be achieved if you are not honest with yourself and if you don’t take responsibility for your life. After all, it is YOUR life, not the school’s, not your teacher’s, not your parent’s. The summer will be significant for you in that you will receive the outcome of your formal qualifications. Some of you will be happy, some of you will be sad. However you feel you should be proud of what you achieve as the achievement is yours and yours alone. Is there a secret to success and happiness? If there is, I have yet to find it. The one thing I do know is that if you make it your mission to find these things, if you purposely and deliberately seek them out, you will find them. I once spoke to you about the value of time: every instance in time is unique, it can never be repeated and you can never get it back. Wasted time is full of regret. When you returned from the first lockdown last summer we spoke about regret. The general consensus was that it is always better to regret doing something than not doing something. You will learn that time will become more valuable than money. It will be your most precious commodity. Please go forth and embrace every opportunity that time affords you, do your very best and be proud of who you are. I wish each and every one of you the best of luck in the future and a happy and successful life. All the best Mr Saunders
Lifelong Learning Mr Ramsey has been working on our lifelong learning Honywood microsite and will be using this to signpost learners to additional preparation work they may be able to complete to support their next steps. He has collated material from all local providers as well as apprenticeship information to support all learners to connect with the next phase of their post-Honywood journey. Thanks To our Lead Learners who took part in a litter pick this week as part of their project to raise awareness during “Keep Britain Tidy week”