A Fond Farewell to the Pupils Departing Ackworth School
This time of the year is always haunted by the sadness of the U6 students graduating. They’ve all been a great company and support to so many students and it’s only natural to feel downcast by their departure from school. It is especially prevalent in boarding since there you see these faces all day long every day of the week. But on the brighter side, before leaving Ackworth they’ve spent time here and given so many happy memories to the ones staying. So to commemorate those moments with this year’s leavers I am writing this article.
Some of the boarders were kind enough to share their favourite memories alongside me:
Anton(L6) about Olha and Ines:
“My favourite memory with the graduates is Olha, Ines and me going to our special place in the middle passage. We would sit there and talk about anything and everything in the world: how life was going, current affairs, or worries. In times of scrutiny, we were always ready to support each other, no matter what. All the good and bad things were discussed here, which led me to form the strongest friendships of my life. I will definitely miss those times and those girls with my whole heart.”
Sasha V(Yr9) about Masha:
“I remember one time we sat in the boarding kitchen-me, Lev and Masha-and were arguing over how much older than us she was. She wouldn’t back down even though me and Lev were right in our calculations unlike her. I remember how funny it was when she said with a straight face that 18-13 is 7. This was and still is utterly hilarious to me and after that I’ve been teasing her about this mathematical slip up she had.”
Daria(L6) about Sofiia:
“Sofiia had become one of my bestest friends and I already miss her so much. One of my favourite moments we shared was us making videos. My favourite ones have to be when we dressed up as a bimbo and a man, one where we had a pillow fight, another with us guessing songs. It was incredible fun and I miss having someone to goof around with like we did with her.”
Kamila(L6) about Xander and Yeva Y:
One of my favourite memories this year was my 17th birthday which I’ve celebrated with Xander and Yeva. The three of us went to Leeds for the day and spent probably one of my best birthdays there. We went through every corner of the enormous 5-floor Flannels store on the main street, found me so many little trinkets to buy as presents from my family, generated some of the funniest unintentional inside jokes and finished the day with a game of mini golf, which Xander ended up winning. I will forever cherish the picture we made in the photobooth that day and all of the memories made with these two.
Coming from Ukraine, where I’ve never had friends in school that were older than me being here and finding them was definitely an experience. I’ve never expected to find myself so saddened by the graduation of my friends but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Every leaver that has graduated from this has left dozens of positive and happy memories in the walls of the school and in those who’ve they shared them with.
In loving remembrance of the happy times,
Kamila R
