Students and staff tuned in today at 11am for a BGS first (and last) to join Miss Jo MacKenzie (Headmistress) and Mrs Jane Axford (Assistant Head) for the end of year assembly. Live streamed from the Assembly Hall, they were joined by the newly formed GLG team. Although it may not have been the send-off we were hoping to give Miss MacKenzie, it provided an opportunity for the community to come together to celebrate the end of an era, to reflect on the most extraordinary of terms and for Miss MacKenzie to say goodbye to the community that she so greatly loves. Miss MacKenzie has spent ten years building an outstanding school that encapsulates her vision of education; a community focused on developing young women who have the intellect, skills and motivation to make a real difference to the world around them.
Miss MacKenzie (fondly known by students as Big Mac) opened the event by paying tribute to students and staff, who are leaving this year. She particularly praised our Upper Sixth leavers – “the COVID class of 2020”- and our Year 11 students for the resilient way that they had coped with the most unfortunate of circumstances, and expressed how sorry she was that they have missed out on the rites of passages that define these stages of their education. She thanked staff who were also leaving, for their service and support to BGS and went on to congratulate students who had been awarded Platinum house points.
Addressing the students, she said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to be your Head. The pride I have had in seeing you grow, blossom and flourish, excited by your good times and watching you cope and deal with the bad times.”
She continued by reflecting on what Lockdown has meant to her, she said: “For me, my goodness I have missed you and it has highlighted to me how much I will miss you all. I knew when I stepped down from this Headship I could never go to another school to work, there is no other school that could bring me more joy than BGS, no other school that has such fantastic students and staff, I know I have worked and visited many. I have been incredibly fortunate to have spent a decade in a school where together we could make such a difference, together we could both thrive and together feel so strong.
She concluded with a request: “You were all incredibly kind to me when I first arrived, I ask you to be the same for Mrs Gibson. Like me, she is so excited to be starting, but like me because we are human we will have butterflies at the start of term, make her feel welcome and part of BGS, because that is what makes BGS special.”
Headgirl Leigh-Ann Cudjoe and the GLG joined Miss MacKenzie to receive their GLG badges and to offer farewells and thank-yous on behalf of the student community to Miss MacKenzie and the other members of staff leaving this summer. Leigh-Ann summed up the thoughts of many of our students saying: “On behalf of all of your girls at BGS we would like to say, thank you for all you have done for us. You really have been the perfect Headmistress; Thank you for leading us for the past 10 years. BGS would not be the school it is today without you and we wish you the very best with everything you do in the future and we hope it brings you as much pleasure as we have given you and more.”
Other members of the GLG then spoke about staff that are leaving BGS, thanking them for their unwavering support and excellent teaching. We wish them all well as they take on new exciting opportunities.
Before Miss MacKenzie could make an exit, the GLG had one more surprise, having galvanized the current students, and previous Head Girls, to create a farewell video, which brought laughter and joy to our very own Big Mac.
On behalf of all at BGS, we raise a virtual toast to Miss MacKenzie; she has been the ultimate role model, creating a community based on kindness and respect. Leading with calmness, compassion and grace; encouraging hard work and self-motivation; showing us how to keep going when times are tough, and always ensuring that the welfare of our students is at the heart of her decision-making. We all wish her well and we look forward to warmly welcoming Mrs Gibson to our community in August.
You can view the farewell assembly here.
