As you’re preparing to hang up your school ties and embrace the summer holidays, these last few weeks are like gold dust after the stress of exams. The pressure’s off and you’re currently ruling the canteen queues at the top of the pecking order.
Here are some ideas to end your year the right way and recreate that feeling of pure joy when you left the primary playground for the last time.
1. Write on shirts with big felt tip pens
Have you ever gone back to read the messages on your old primary school polo shirt? Whatever happened to your first best friend? What drawing was that squiggle covering up? Why did no-one ever think to lift up the collar when looking for some space to write?
Arm yourself with an array of felt tip colours, and remember that no one ever wants to be the one that has to use the yellow or brown pen. Ideas for messages include:
Remember the time when…
Insert private joke here…
Or the time-tested classic: writing your name.
2. Make a makeshift yearbook
You may have already shelled out £20 for a nice glossy version, but that yearbook was just filled up with photos of school trips and awkward personal paragraphs under pictures of your classmates. Buy a big A3 scrapbook and ask everyone to bring in their disposable photos or print-outs from Facebook which didn’t quite make it into the printed yearbook. You can write up a Contents page of themed sections beforehand to help guide others with what to bring in. You might even learn one or two things from old photos about what not to wear in future.
3. Hold a kids party on the last day
I’ll never forget the moment at the primary school leaving party when the massive bouncy castle slide slowly tipped over before my eyes, bringing down all of the P7s with it. I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t put my shoes back on.
Why not re-live your childhood with a kids themed party? The scale is up to you – whether jelly and ice cream makes a big appearance, or your class holds a fundraiser to hire out a bouncy castle fantasy land, the party will close off this chapter of your life in a suitably non-grown up fashion.
To top it off, throw in a BBQ. Sounds like the perfect way to spend an afternoon free from classes.
4. Host an awards ceremony
My proudest achievement so far was being voted ‘Cheeriest Newcomer’ when I joined a different school in sixth year. Whether you’re in fourth, fifth or you’ve already left having ended sixth year, you too can leave your classmates with a warm fuzzy feeling by putting together a miniature awards ceremony. Keep the awards positive, and only reflect on embarrassing moments if you know that the person in question won’t be offended. Remember that you are about to embark upon the journey towards becoming somewhat more responsible…
5. Write an open letter to next year’s classes
Now that you are coming to the end of high school, your conversations will naturally turn to reminiscing about the ‘what-ifs’ of your last six years. A good idea would be to ask your classmates this question:
What do you wish that someone had told you about being at school that you know now?
From first years joining the intimidating world of high school to fifth years starting to make some important decisions about the next step, this open letter can be passed about each class or even turned into an online blog for everyone to look back on.
Enjoy these next few weeks and remember: if any teacher made you smile during those long double-periods over the years – let them know!
