Good morning, everyone! My name is Devin, and I am the current Head boy at Banstead Prep School. Today I would like to tell you a little bit about my time at BPS and why it has meant so much to me.
Being part of the first year who started in 2017 in Reception and have now gone through to Year6, I feel like I’ve had a full experience of what BPS has to offer. I have always been very curious which has been an asset to me in my learning journey here.
I would now like to share some of my key memories of my time here.
In Reception we pretended to be superheroes, saving Mrs Nunn, trapped in the space net (new at the time!) from the clutches of the Evil Pea. From what I remember, the Evil Pea was circular ball with eyes on it – it may not sound particularly sinister now, but it was scary back then!
I’ll always remember Mr Tunnell’s ability to come up with nicknames. When someone started sentences with “Hey!”, Mr Tunnell would say (and still does…) “Hay is for horses!” Lessons were were always fun with Mr Tunnell and my other teachers.
I really enjoyed the yearly residentials as we did activities that helped me be collaborative and develop our classes teamwork and leadership. Residentials are a great way to have fun and create lasting memories! One that will stick in my mind was the mud adventure during the Y4 trip to Hindleap Warren! I remember doing mud angels with Miss Perry, and Harry hopping around while Raahul jumped into a mud pool with no eye protection to retrieve Harry’s wellie boot! Although I was the hippo in our Y6 performance of Madagascar, Raahul will forever be known as “THE Hippo” to Y6.
Covid and 11+ were some of the toughest times I have had, but with great support I have become more adaptable and more resilient. I had to figure out how to learn from home and didn’t get to see my friends for a long time. 11+ was testing as well, but with the great support from Mrs Dziedziela, Mr Jeens, Mrs Nunn, Mrs Clark and the rest of my teachers and my parents, I was able to successfully get though it and was awarded scholarships at both Caterham and Reigate.
I love playing football and have played with great pride when I have been given the opportunity to represent my school in matches and tournaments. I have also been lucky enough to participate in lots of plays and musical performances. It has given me the chance to better myself as well as try things I am less confident in.
More recently, as part of the leavers programme, I feel I have become more independent. I was able to show this during our Year 6 residential to Belgium. Travelling without my parents was daunting, but exciting! In the Ready Steady Cook Challenge with Mrs Miles and Young Enterprise day with Mr Ayling I had to work diligently within my team. I learnt how important it is to communicate to successfully reach our goal.
Writing this speech has reminded me of everything my teachers have taught me, the skills I have picked up and the fun I have had. Specifically, the 8 BPS learner traits, which I am going to take with me to secondary school and beyond.
During the last seven years, I have had fantastic teachers who have helped me become the boy I am today. I have made good friends, some that started with me in Reception, and some that have joined us along the way; we have all formed a strong bond. I am very proud to be part of this Year 6 group and look forward to the exciting journey we are all about to start on.
