For anyone participating in it , the Torch Ceremony is an emotional experience , representing a special phase of each Scotch boy ’ s passage from student to Old Boy . Flaming torches are lit , and , beginning with the School Captain and Vice Captain , each departing boy has the privilege of holding one of the two torches of learning aloft as he crosses the stage to hand the torch on to a classmate . Retiring staff members also participate in the ceremony .
As with the Presentation Afternoon , this year COVID-19 restrictions required that the Torch Ceremony was held as a closed event in Memorial Hall on 27 October , attended only by the Year 12 boys and teaching staff . It was broadcast live to boys from Year 9 to Year 11 in their classrooms .
Four retiring staff members were farewelled at this year ’ s Torch Ceremony – Mr Chris Braithwaite , Mr Rob Papuga , Mr Chris Hayes and Mr Stephen Pallot ( see the staff farewells article in this edition ). In addition , the Year 12 Committee presented a cheque to the Principal , Mr Tom Batty , representing the Year 12 gift to the School . Forbes was announced as Cock House for 2020 .
This is an edited version of an address by School Vice Captain , Darren Tan , during the Torch Ceremony :
A YEAR OF UNEXPECTED EXPERIENCES
What a year it ’ s been of experiences which will not really sink in , until one day when everything is open and we are with a group of friends at a shopping centre . Someone will bring a memory of that time when someone forgot to mute their mic , and we will all start sharing stories about the hazy dream world that we all remember occurring in 2020 .
Today ’ s Torch Ceremony is a celebration , and a thank you , on behalf of the Class of 2020 . I would like to thank Mr Batty , for continuing to be a constant and reliable presence around the boys , a presence we all appreciate . Thank you to all the teachers for just making it work this year . It is not easy to teach remotely , and I ’ m sure it would have been weird dealing with unnaturally quiet boys online .
To the Maintenance and Grounds staff : making my way around campus these last two weeks , I realised that I will really miss the beauty of this school ; the glistening green grass of the ovals in the morning , and the pristine clean and welcoming classrooms which are prepared every day for us .
Some teachers in particular have had it tough this year . To Mr Woolacott – thank you for your efforts in continuing to rehash the timetable . As for Mr Evans : how many sleepless nights have you endured , waiting with bated breath about whether we ’ re going into lockdown again ? What an amazing job you have done this year , not only giving us Year 12s the best preparation for the examinations , but also helping us to keep
mentally sane throughout the year .
To Mr Brown , Will Dixon , the Prefects , the 2020 Committee : congratulations on a job well done . But most of all , I would like to thank all of you Year 12s , who are sitting in this hall right now , for the last time .
To me , what ’ s so unforgettable about school is the diversity of the boys with whom we sit in classes , with whom we run in relays , and with whom we celebrate . For these years , we ’ ve been bound together tightly , but in the next few years we will have scattered to different countries , followed different professions , lived different lives .
What I will miss the most are the small things about our time at school ; the nods we share in the hallway , the looks we share when a teacher says something funny , the happy banter in the classroom .
What I ’ m trying to say is that what I ’ ll miss most about Scotch is a feeling . A feeling of togetherness with a bunch of boys that are so incredibly different and unique , yet with whom we will have common memories of sharing these years together . A feeling I did not think we would have until this morning , of sitting in a hall together . It is a feeling which is difficult to express in words . So please , just for the next 10 seconds , I will not speak , and I invite you just to have a look around the hall , at all the boys with whom you have shared these years .
Boys – good luck for your exams . I hope you all pursue your desires in the years to come , whatever they may be , and I hope , in the future , our paths will cross again .
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