Do what matters

The Pipers Corner School community came together for a very enjoyable Parents’ Day on Saturday 9 July. We were delighted to welcome our guest of honour, Clarissa Farr, High Mistress at St Paul’s Girls’ School, to celebrate the end of another highly successful academic year.

During the prize-giving, as well as seeing a variety of prizes and awards being presented, the audience were treated to some musical performances, representing every part of the school.  Year 2 recited a poem called “The Day the Telly Broke Down” by Lindsay MacRae, Year 6 sang a medley of songs from their end of year production of “Peter Pan and the cast of the Senior School Production of the “Lion King” performed “The Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata”.

The Headmistress, Mrs Ness-Gifford, began proceedings with a review of the year and the girls’ many fantastic accomplishments. Some of the many achievements she highlighted included recognition of the first group of Pipers girls to complete the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, the huge commitment and effort shown by the Sixth Form editorial committee of the School Magazine “Aquila”, the launch of the exciting Drama workshops with the new CREATE programme, the completion of the Arts Awards by girls for the first time and the success seen by the Prep Department growing the “Rocket seeds” from space.  She then went on to talk about how young people need to develop resilience and prepare for their future by learning how to fail and accepting it in order to be able to move on to become successful adults.  She paid tribute to the girls, parents and staff, acknowledging that it is the people that make Pipers what it is and that the future of the school is very bright.

Head Girl, Alice W, gave an excellent speech about what and who inspires her and what her hopes are for her future.  She used the analogy that life is a series of photographs that capture the important and pivotal times in life. She advised the girls that they  should “do what you love”, “break the mould” and “do what matters”, pointing out that her time at Pipers had given her limitless possibilities to study and do what she wanted to make sure she achieves her dream of becoming a wildlife camerawomen.  To demonstrate the idea of aiming high, prior to the ceremony Alice had managed to make contact with a person she greatly admires, Sophie Darlington, a renowned wildlife camerawoman. She asked Mrs Darlington for advice on how you can achieve your ambitions and played a few minutes of her conversation via Skype to the audience in which Sophie explained the events that had led her to her career and that with passion and drive everyone can succeed.

The guest of honour, Clarissa Farr, gave her address after the prize-giving.  She echoed the Headmistress’s words by telling the girls that they should embrace failure and that many people whom they admire have faced great difficulty but have grown and developed to be successful in their lives.  She went onto say that you should never shy away from difficulty and it is never too late to become your true self. 

The event was a lovely occasion, and a fitting way to celebrate everything the girls have achieved this year, whilst looking ahead and appreciating all that is to come. 

For more information contact:

Rebecca Conroy, Senior Marketing Executive, Pipers Corner School. Telephone 01494 719850 or email [email protected] | www.facebook.com/PipersCornerSchool | @PipersCornerSch