Year 6 pupils at Newington primary graduate in style

Newington leavers

Children leaving Year 6 at Newington Community Primary School in Ramsgate enjoyed a day to remember.

A week of activities and celebrations culminated in a happy and sometimes emotional graduation ceremony for the youngsters who spent the whole of their final year in primary education under strict pandemic safety conditions.

The ceremony was timetabled and saw each class graduate individually outdoors in the Newington theatre space to ensure social distancing was maintained.

Each pupil received a graduation gift box that included a Leavers 2021 hoodie, personal presents, and there were even individually named iced cakes in the school colours for each pupil.

The children also celebrated their time at the school by singing their new leavers song adapted from These Days.

Matt Rigden, Year 6 Lead, and the year group team joined in the presentation and the celebrations. He said: “These children have had a year of ups and downs, due to school closures.

“We felt as very strongly as a school about offering our Year 6 group the chance to say goodbye and have some closure on their primary education.

“They have worked so hard throughout their time with us and we wanted to make the day as special as possible. It was a lovely occasion with lots of smiles, memories and a few tears.”

Assistant Head teacher Taralee Kennedy added: “This year group has been unique in our history, spending a whole academic year preparing for the move to secondary school while pandemic restrictions, lockdowns, closures and home learning, made it a challenging time.

Year 6 teachers

“In true Newington spirit they rose to the challenge and had an enjoyable year working with enthusiasm and real character. They are ready to take the next steps on their educational adventure and we send them on their way with a best wishes, knowing they will always do their best and uphold the Newington motto – Aspiration, Ambition, Achievement.”