Awards Afternoon for the Class of 2023 was held on Tuesday 4 January and proved to be a very motivating and inspiring event.

It began with a talk from the Chair of Governors and Headteacher, Miss Kelly, highlighting just how important it is to be a part of such a high-achieving and ambitious community in Highsted. In between the presentation of the awards, we had some musical interludes, which added further to the celebratory atmosphere.

Watching both the Year 12 and 14 students go up to collect their rewards, it was notable just how unified they were as year groups. From examination season to collecting their certificates, they clearly had very strong, ongoing support for each other. It was also exciting to meet the Year 14s as they returned to celebrate their success together and it was a very positive experience to see so many friendly, familiar faces and hear about their experiences at university so far.

Our guest speaker, Mimi Mwasame was inspiring! She began her talk with engaging audience participation, where we all learned to pronounce words like ‘Hello’ and ‘Good afternoon’ in Swahili. Mimi then spoke about how, from a very young age, she had upheld great ambition and aspired highly. However, she faced many difficult hurdles which she had to overcome with strength and resilience – grief, loneliness and homesickness, as she had to adapt to a new environment.

Mimi’s presentation was so empowering to show to all seated, just how vital it is to have a positive mindset in order to get us through hardships. She also spoke about the importance of embracing who we are as people in order to achieve our goals and ambitions. I was particularly inspired by the quote she read, which embodied everything she spoke about: ‘your limit is only in your mind.’ It is clear that many limits were exceeded by the Year 12s and 14s, leading to them to celebrate amazing achievements of their own!

Overall, it was such a positive and uplifting afternoon!