A celebration of excellence: EF Academy Torbay’s Class of 2017 graduation

Such a complex and intricate web of relationships have been formed in the years of belonging to this school, one that is impossible to fully capture and wrap up in a graduation ceremony.

Nevertheless, we can try.

We introduced our friends to our family, the first time for many of us, during the dinner we had Friday evening. We sat around the table and shared memories, laughter, and hugs, trying to explain to our parents how our friends were the greatest form of support we had during our time away from home. We cannot sing our praises loud enough!

We dressed up in our gowns and suits on Saturday morning and made our way to the Riviera Centre to hug and kiss each other and tell ourselves how amazing we looked. We cheered for our headmaster, who did a brilliant job of dedicating the day to us. We cheered for our head girls, one of whom (Peri Damirova) was a graduating student. We celebrated them and the work that they had done for our school, whilst balancing their academic life and excelling in it.

We watched the performances happily, captivated by the talent of the singers and the skill of the handpan drummer, Kevin Cho. Our memories of many of these performers consist of their initial shyness and the tremendous growth that has taken place during their time here.

My friend, Stephanie Chan, whispered to me, “It seems like just yesterday I was graduating IGCSE.” As they and the preparation course students marched up to the stage, “How amazing is it, that these people are so excited and have their own individual journeys to continue?” I agree with her. I can imagine that all the parents and teachers in the room were thinking the same.

We cheered for those who were named Outstanding Students of the Year so loudly I thought that our lungs would collectively burst. We all knew in our hearts how much they deserved the recognition given to them, and perhaps that the word “outstanding” wasn’t enough. The award they received is an honest effort at honoring them, but it seems almost shallow in comparison to how much they mean to us. However, I’ll try again – to Agatha Limonso, Angelina Yang, Nibras Sakkir, and Roberto Vento: thank you so much for filling our school with your spirit.

Many more awards were given to students across the school to reward them for their hard work in academics and co-curricular activities. We clapped and clapped and clapped, but it didn’t show how hard these students have worked, or how much time they have given up and how much of their knowledge they used to help others.

Finally, the nominated valedictorian, Gabrielle Isa, gave a heartwarming speech that put the feelings of many people into words before finally ending the ceremony by collecting our certificates with pride. It was the moment we had been waiting for, and in my opinion it felt almost anticlimactic. But nevertheless, it was wonderful.