Silver Awards

Ashanee Hapuarachchi

Mariya Guz

Emily Smith

The word ‘memorable’ is not definitive enough to describe our time at St Margaret’s. Mariya, Emily and I have been at the school since we were three years old, during which there has been an amalgamation of hilarity, joy, chaos and bittersweet moments. So much has changed in the last fifteen years, from nursery uniforms and teaching staff to the school building and our own journeys as we grew older. It’s time for this trio of silver girls to begin a new chapter in our lives, built upon the foundations constructed through our years at St Margaret’s.

etween Emily and Ashanee fighting over who got to play with Twinkletoes the horse and whoever B managed to sing the loudest during music, the girls’ time at the Daffodil Nursery was full of many memories – both amusing and fond. Those two years from ages three to five were the very beginnings of our school journey, and crossing through the divide between the nursery and the 1 Junior classroom was, in a word, daunting. But there was excitement, too; we were finally going to be ‘big girls’, and we were raring to dive straight into the new and exciting experiences that Junior School would no doubt offer us.

1 Junior got off to a great start: namely, in the form of our entire class being gifted St Margaret’s teddy bears, complete with blue polo-shirts. Little did we know at the time that as the years progressed, we would end up collecting numerous St Margaret’s teddies, all with different outfits and badges that mirrored the changing school uniform as we made our way further and further up the school.

4 Junior was a busy year for all three of us; not only were we now the oldest in the lower Junior School, but we had new responsibilities to undertake, such as cleaning our tables following lunch in the dining room. Mariya also had the job of sitting inside the 4J classroom with Ashanee during breaks and lunchtimes after the latter fractured her foot while running up the stairs. Despite being unable to play outside, both girls found ways to make their time indoors entertaining, and soon enough they came to enjoy their time chatting and coming up with imaginative stories to tell each other.

When 5 Junior came around, the responsibilities of 4 Junior seemed to pale in comparison. Not only were we now located in a classroom on the first floor of the Junior School building with the older year groups, we also got to wear a completely new uniform. As well as changes to our appearance, our arrival to 5 Junior gave us the opportunity to take on more prominent roles in school shows, attend more school-wide assemblies, and participate in more school events like the Christmas Carol Concert, Sports Day and Speech Day.

However, it was the transition to Senior School when things began to change for all three of us – and the rest of our class. I Senior was full of new experiences and introductions to subjects that were not part of the Junior School curriculum: III Senior was the beginning of our preparations for National 5 exams; IV and V Senior were most certainly difficult for everyone. Covid meant that we had to learn from home, and cancelled exams served to bring a lot of new challenges our way, but we pulled through and made it to the other side, having gained more experience and knowledge throughout our time spent social distancing and isolating from our friends and families.

VI Senior was a whirlwind from start to finish. For the first time in two years, our year group was given access to the sixth year flat – something that everyone was eagerly anticipating. Our year group came together as we prepared to take our next steps, whether that be applying for college or university or pursuing a career in our preferred fields. Between dress-up days and school trips, panics over personal statements and scrambling to put together a sixth year assembly, our final year at St Margaret’s was one to remember. Before we knew it, it was our last day. Speech Day was an emotional event for everyone, and while the future for our year group – and our trio of Silver Girls – is ours to shape, leaving behind the only school we’ve ever attended was something daunting. It was brightened, however, by the three of us receiving our Silver Awards – and more St Margaret’s teddies, complete with sixth year badges.

It’s strange to think about how we’re now former pupils of St Margaret’s, but the memories and lessons that we have gathered and learned throughout our school journey are cherished, and to them, we will always hold fast.

Ashanee Hapuarachchi