Page 9 - Bellfort Magazine 2019

Prize Afternoon began as always What made him successful was Amongst our guests is Mr Mervyn
with choir and orchestra – led by not necessarily attached to win- Storey on whom we are depend-
Mrs King and accompanied by ning but to that ability, as it is de- ing at the moment to help esca-
Mrs Nevin: the fresh young voic- scribed in the New Testament, to late the bureaucratic processes
es of the full school choir, singing ‘keep on keeping on’. Or, as Win- around our new school building.
‘Grenfell: From Today’, followed ston Churchill put it in some of his This time last year, we were hold-
by the very professional and mov- most trying circumstances… ing public consultations and I was
ing tones of the Chamber Choir ‘never, never, never give up’! advising you that the Build would
with, ‘Still, My Soul Be Still’. Ruth be complete in 2020. One year

Morrow gave an accomplished on, the date for completion has
performance as soloist. This was Prize Winners today – I congratu- shifted some three years, and I
the choir which performed for late you – both current and past find myself having to dig deep for
Prince Harry and Duchess Me- pupils. And I want to say, ‘never, the resilience to keep going.
ghan earlier this year and the tal- never give up’. And equally I And yes, having to take my own
ents of the individuals involved want to say to pupils not receiv- advice…. never, never give up!
and others, will be showcased ing prizes today, ‘never, never So today I call on the Education
again in our up-coming produc- give up!’ Because it’s the journey Authority and the Department of
not the prize that you must prize Education to escalate this pro-
most! As you go forward, may cess, to recognise that children
the values you have shared in are being disadvantaged because
your time here remain with you an Area Plan which they put in
throughout your lives and prove a place has not been given suffi-
rock to which you will often re- cient infra-structure to support
turn. the growth. Mr Storey has also

Welcome our Chief Guest, Mr been liaising on our behalf with
th
tion of the musical ‘Oliver’ on 29 Thomas Wallace, well-known as a the Authority to ensure that we
th
and 30 November. Businessman in our town and have sufficient accommodation in
The older I get, the more I realise connected with our school place to meet the needs of the
the less I know. As you sit in this throughout its years of existence young people while we await
Prize ceremony – what are your - and indeed all the schools in the completion of the new build. I
thoughts about learning and locality through the sale of uni- am pleased to say that there are
about education? forms. Mr Wallace is a generous encouraging signs within the last
sponsor of our school and we’re twenty-four hours that such plans
This is what one man wrote when
delighted that both he and his are coming to fruition and that
he looked back at his school days,
wife are able to be here to pre- we will indeed be able to build
‘I failed in some subjects – I found
sent our awards and prizes later. our curriculum for 2019, including
learning tough at times, I had to our plans for SEND pupils, with
stick at it - but my best friend, Welcome also to our many special confidence.
well he did better than me, he guests, parents, friends, neigh-
passed everything… Now he has bouring schools, and representa-
a tremendous job as an Engineer tives of local businesses – whose
in Microsoft. And me… well my support we value.
name is Bill Gates - I own Mi-
crosoft’.
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