Pupils saying goodbye...
It's that time of year when pupils in Yrs.11 + 13 go on study leave, some never to be seen again apart from when they come in for exams. For the last 5 years I have been a form teacher for the same class, having taken them from Yr.7 (11-12 years old) to Yr.11 (15-16 years old). It's the first time school has ever done this, have teachers (where possible) follow a class through for 5 years. As a practice it has its good sides and bad sides, but the good far outweighs the bad. If things go well you can really develop a relationship with the pupils. You hope that you have been a positive influence on them. In particular in my case as a Brother, I hope that in some small way I have helped bring them closer to Christ. I suppose a good sign for me after these 5 years was that my class bought me a Southampton F.C. shirt with "Bro J" and a "10" on the back. The class had also signed it. Another pupil gave me a large bottle of malt whisky. The class presented the presents to me after our Yr.11 Leavers' Mass which I had led the music for with our staff/pupil band as usual. I was surprised and moved by their generosity. I will of course being seeing (and probably teaching) many of them in the 6th Form next year, but it was nonetheless a moment of farewell to them as a bunch (full of lively, witty characters) that left a lump in the throat. Two of them will be coming with me to Africa in 6 weeks.
20 year-old Saints midfielder, Andrew Surman, a former pupil of our (the De La Mennais Brothers') Southampton school, St. Mary's College.
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