Page 11 - The Old Ratcliffian 2015 Magazine

NEWS FROM THE COLLEGE 11
YEAR 13 REFLECTIONS - 2015
Prepared by Phoebe Allen (15) and read by Georgia Chilton (15)
There is a quote from the film Dead Poet’s Society which I would
like to share with you all: ‘We all have a great need for acceptance, values of integrity, compassion and justice that have developed
but you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even
though others may think them odd or unpopular’. This message,
I believe, shares a fundamental value which Ratcliffe teaches
us: not to be afraid to be who we are. For God has given us all
particular gifts; these make us different from one another, but
equally as beautiful and valuable.
I asked a few people to write some words about what Ratcliffe
has meant to them. One of the strongest ideas was that Ratcliffe
has played a big part in who we’ve become. Through everything
we can do and have done during our time at Ratcliffe, we have
learnt, changed and developed into the people sitting here
today. Someone described it by saying that ‘Ratcliffe was the
forge into which we were thrown. Instead of burning away, it
tempered and created the hardened steel of us’.
It is not right to say that our time here has always been easy, or
that we’ve enjoyed every minute. Through the smiles and tears,
laughs and jeers, the School has been the great catalyst which
has allowed the friends, foes and teachers to make you ‘you’.
Another strong theme was that Ratcliffe is a ‘home from home’
to all its students in many different ways. I’m sure that many
of us have felt that the School is a constant in life, even when
everything around us has been turbulent and changing. As
someone else wrote, ‘It is where I see all my friends, catch up
with the latest news, and have a good laugh about whatever has
previously happened. It is where I have found out more about
myself, my preferences and my abilities’.
It’s sometimes easy to forget that there is a reason that Ratcliffe
is remembered so fondly. That reason is that Blessed Antonio
Rosmini, our Founder, had very clear aims for education: that
truth be found through honest, intellectual curiosity; that
students recognise and know the significance of Love and
Charity; and that the ‘whole person’ is developed - not just their
skills or abilities, but also their hearts and actions. It is these
the building blocks of our community and, as such, the building
blocks of ourselves, which have shaped us in some way. Today is
a key milestone in our lives, like a bud coming into blossom. Just
like the blossom on a tree, each integral part is important, but
they are not the same. We are that tree and we have all grown
together. But a tree needs a flower just as much as it needs its
roots. The various goals and aspirations of our year group display
just how rich this tree is! Some of us want to be doctors and some
of us want to be painters, some of us want to learn and some of
us want to travel. We all have our own way and our own plan, or
sometimes a complete lack of any plan. But even though each
of us has our own plan, we are not alone, because we have each
other, just as we are.
A fellow student wrote: ‘When asked what Ratcliffe means to me,
I thought of the heart. In a simple analogy, the heart is a symbol
of love, the seat of the soul and the centre of profound emotion.
As a heart is central to the body, Ratcliffe has been central to my
life over the past four years. Through helping me to function and
shaping who I am, Ratcliffe is like the heart to me’.
Not only should we be saying goodbye today, but also thank you.
Thank you to our School, to our parents, to our teachers, thank
you for the challenges and thank you for the victories, thank you
for the lessons learnt that spread beyond the curriculum, and
thank you for creating our community, our second family.
Phoebe Allen (15)
SCHOOL PROMOTION
On March 10th 2015, two then Year 13 students, Sophie Riley
(15) and Phoebe Allen (15), with the help of Jackie Bennett and
Graham Sharpe, ran a promotional event for the students.
The girls put together a questionnaire which was distributed to
all the students in the Upper School, and the winning entries
were put into a prize draw, which was drawn at the Headmaster’s
Assembly in the following week. The purpose of the event was
to spread the word about the Ratcliffian Association in this, its
150th Anniversary year. The students were given five simple
questions to answer about the Ratcliffian Association. This event
is part of an overall drive to raise awareness, in both the staff
and students of the College, of the benefits of the Association.
Sophie Riley (15) & Phoebe Allen (15), Ratcliffian Association Prefects
promoting the Association
Register online at www.ratcliffianassociation.co.uk