8 July 2021
Second year boys attended a celebration in the Amey Theatre on Tuesday evening to mark the end of their time in Lower School and the successful first year of our new Be More Griffen course. First year boys and all Lower School parents were able to watch live via Zoom and everyone was then treated to a truly inspirational talk from guest speaker Al Sylvester, who led the RAF’s first unsupported attempt on the South Pole. His story of how he handled the disappointment of having to call off the expedition when the team was less than 100 miles away from their target contained lots of valuable messages for the boys about dealing with failure and the importance of resilience.
The second half of the evening saw each of the three tutor groups present a film that they had made reflecting on their time in Lower School and the ideas they have discussed in their Be More Griffen lessons, followed by the presentation of half colours and colours ties. The end of year prizes were then awarded as follows:
Academic Prizes: Benedict Donald (2C), Tom Saunders (2H) and Benjamin Byrne (2J)
Baker Awards: Callum Alderman and Sam Wormald
The Cooper Cup for excellence in reading: Luca Centazzo-Hammersley
The Dillon Cup for service: Noah Coombs
The Woodgett Cup: Mark Hanlon
The evening concluded with a slideshow of photographs showing the journey that the second year boys have been on for the last two years. We wish them well for the move to Middle School.