When I look at the current Year 1's I can hardly remember me being one of them. Every year I say that they're getting smaller and smaller or maybe it's just me getting bigger. But I still think back on the feeling of being in Year 1, loving your teacher and thinking that they are the kindest and best in the world, as well as looking up to the impossibly big year 8's, who seem from another, inaccessible, galaxy.

Throughout my long years at the school I have been taught under three headmasters, each different from the other, I have moved buildings, and was part of the first Year 1 class at the Manresa Road site. Something, has always remained the same; the Hampshire School was always more than just Maths and English.

That is to say, through school, we have friends from the UK, Brunei, Ghana, Spain, the USA and Denmark, to mention just a few. We were given the chance to take part in various clubs, for instance I was the anchorman for our own “News For School”. Some of us are the stars of our sports teams and others have been given opportunities to show off their talents in various music concerts and art exhibitions. And for me, I am most proud that I know how to say in Latin necat, occidit, interficit, which means he kills, he kills, he kills, each in a different way.

Now I understand that it's not possible to love all your teachers all the time, but you can always be inspired by them outside the curriculum, be it humour, humility, positivity, the ability to focus and patience. But mainly, in 8 years at the school, I have learnt that hard work always pays off, and I certainly don't mean only in the limited sense of exam results.

Our generation is fully embedded in the digital age. Every query goes to Google, and some of our most eager conversations take place in the cloud. And, because of this, we need to value the spoken word that isn't filtered through various air waves, especially those that are uttered by our parents, teachers and headmaster. On the brink of graduating, we should be able to take with us those words: we care for each other, we are good listeners, we are kind and helpful, we are respectful.

Last week, I received this huge welcome pack from my next school, and the first thing I did was to check the term dates so as to see when my half-term was. I simply wanted to know when I could first visit the Hampshire School. I think that says it all.

Thank you.