14/06/2019
CON-GRAD-ULATIONS
Graduation celebrations were a huge success at ACS Cobham for the class of 2019 Students in the class of 2019 at ACS Cobham International School celebrated the end of their final year and completion of their academic endeavours at a graduation ceremony on Friday 31 May.
In the presence of family members, friends and school staff, 136 students, aged between 17-18 years, officially completed their intensive academic courses. Pupils followed curriculum programmes either from the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme – a broad, internationally recognised qualification that lends itself to continuing in a high education path at universities worldwide – or the Advanced Placement Programme, popular for those applying to universities in North America.
Student diplomas were presented by Christopher Walker, High School Principal and Luke Welch, Head of Year, and the graduation ceremony also included several awards recognising the students’ outstanding achievements throughout their time at ACS Cobham. The Founders’ Award was received by Samuel Philipson for his excellent academic achievement, consistent involvement in extra-curricular activities, outstanding contribution to school life, service to others and strong leadership. Christopher Walker, High School Principal at ACS Cobham, said:
Graduation was a very happy occasion for our students, their families and the teaching staff. We are all very proud, not only of the academic achievements but also of the personal growth and development of our international student community.
“I have every faith that they are prepared for all the challenges of the future, from university through to varied international careers. Every student has worked remarkably hard to achieve his or her own goals and today has been a superb showcase of their skills.” Amongst the awards, James Walkling was named as 2019 Valedictorian and the Salutatorian award went to Bethan Holloway-Strong, both awards recognise the students’ academic achievements from across the year. The keynote guest speaker at this year’s graduation ceremony was Ben Cohen, MBE – former Northampton and England rugby union player. He now runs the Ben Cohen Stand Up Foundation to combat homophobia and bullying. His advice to the graduating class was to persevere. Whenever life gets you down or you think you can’t do something – keep going. You can do whatever you set your mind to so never give up.
“We’ve worked very hard to reach this point of graduation,” said valedictorian James. “I am proud of every one of my classmates and very thankful to the exceptional teaching staff here at ACS Cobham. We have been extremely privileged to learn from a rich and varied curriculum from some very inspiring teachers and we are all eager and excited to see what the next step now brings.”