To be standing in front of Bradfieldians, teachers, parents and the leavers of 2023 at Commemoration is a privilege. My time at Bradfield is not sufficiently unique to have afforded me this platform today, yet here I am. When I began writing my speech, I wondered what the value was in me giving my perspective on Bradfield when each person here has a different perspective based on their own experiences. However, as the sunscreen song decrees, sunscreen is the only certain thing with long term, scientifically proven benefits, whereas the rest of the advice given is no more reliable than the narrators own meandering experience. So, for now, my own meandering experience through Bradfield provides the most reliable advice I have to offer. If you and I can accept that, then I think we are safe to continue.
My favourite line from sunscreen which many of you would have heard is: “Don’t worry about the future, it is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.” It sounds bizarre, doesn’t it? But the sentiment is a true one. The teenage years are no easy ride for anyone involved. For us, these trying years were made even harder by the unprecedented external factors which have impacted us all. Today’s leavers are the last year group to have been affected by the change in external examinations. Having just staggered from the trenches of IB and A Level exams I think it is clear to see that despite our worries about the new and somewhat unwelcome experience of sitting exams, we simply got on with it and I’m really proud of the tenacity we showed in doing that. Even with no bubble gum allowed.
Over the last few years, we have witnessed a war in Ukraine impacting many within our own community, Human Rights protests around the world and we have all endured three Prime Ministers within a year. Whilst we are somewhat protected from the impact of this by the support network and community here at Bradfield, we have nonetheless experienced uncertainty and worry. Our privilege here at Bradfield should not be taken for granted by any of us, yet it is right to acknowledge how that protection and privilege has allowed us to develop the resilience we will need as we move away from our comfortable lives here at the College. So, we are able to take the advice: “Don’t worry about the future”, because we know that we have learned the tenacity, power and resilience to cope with whatever comes our way. Being part of Bradfield, the sense of belonging and protection, it will not stop after leaving, it remains within us. It is part of who we are and who we will become. The people who supported, encouraged and genuinely wanted the very best for us remain our strongest allies. So, to worry about the future is to doubt ourselves and, worse than that, it is to doubt their faith in us.
It is easy to imagine that when looking back, Bradfield will seem just a chapter in your story. For the leavers that chapter is ending and for current Bradfieldians your chapter is still very much open. As much as taking advice from songs about sunscreen might help you, nothing can really prepare you for navigating your school chapter. The time you spent at school, be it good or maybe not so good, is a universally remembered experience. I’m looking to reflect on what has made my Bradfield experience such a good one and, whilst I’ve only experienced three and a half years in this incredible place with only two of those not affected by the pandemic, I feel able to sum up the incredible experience I’ve had by referring to my favourite film, About Time. In the film, the protagonist is able to time travel and after exploring his ability to travel in time, he decides to live each day twice. The first time with all the tensions and the worries that distract you from noticing the small pockets of joy and sweetness in each day. The second time he lives the day he notices those small moments and he appreciates them. After a while, he learns to live each day only once, but as if he has deliberately returned to that day to enjoy it as if it was the final full day of his extraordinary, ordinary life.
For me, this epitomises how one experiences Bradfield. As whilst the singular achievements in sport, dance, music and academics are, and should be, celebrated and remembered, it is the little moments; the pockets of laughter scattered throughout the day. Time by the river in summer, winters in House, ping pong matches, conversations with friends, conversations with teachers, conversations with strangers, football, hockey, cricket, netball, lacrosse, drama, performing, dancing, laughing, the wait by the exam room, getting a good test result, getting a bad test result, queuing for lunch, queuing for breakfast, Herbie’s Pizza, Friday night treats, talking after lights out, unpacking, repacking, saying hello to everyone after the summer, saying goodbye after term and now, saying goodbye to this chapter. All of these moments fill our days and they are easily dismissed as meaningless, repetitive or annoying. However, it is within these moments that we thrive and if it is true that advice is merely nostalgia, then we are all well equipped to hand out buckets full of it.
