We were very pleased to be able to welcome current Year 12 students and ex-Year 13 students and their families back to school for Speech Day on Monday 19th December. This is the first time that we have been able to hold a speech day since 2019 and it was lovely to be able to celebrate our students’ achievements and award their certificates for their A Level and GCSE results in person.

The guest speaker was Grace Harvey, an ex-student and Paralympian. Grace attended Presdales and left in 2016 and she has since competed in the Commonwealth Games and 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she won a silver medal for the 100m breaststroke. Grace gave a moving speech about her life and the importance of having a goal and a plan to achieve it, regardless of what happens around you. She spoke about how, during the pandemic, she had been forced to train in a swimming pool that her parents had erected in the garden with her trainer speaking to her on a zoom call. We are very grateful to Grace for agreeing to address our students and they left feeling inspired to meet the challenges that face them in the next steps of their lives ahead.