Graduation Ball 2014

Graduation Ball 2014 ‘Are we at the end of the road or at the beginning of a new journey?’ This was the question on the lips of our senior IB students on Friday, 23rd May, as they joined with family, friends and teachers at the Kempinski Hotel to celebrate their graduation from school. ‘Are we at the end of the road or at the beginning of a new journey?’ This was the question on the lips of our senior IB students on Friday, 23rd May, as they joined with family, friends and teachers at the Kempinski Hotel to celebrate their graduation from school.

After two almost interminable years of intellectual toil, the thirty-four survivors of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme could finally put their pens down and say, ‘We did it!’ Now at last there was time to celebrate and to reflect on their achievements, and to begin to anticipate the way ahead. What new adventures would await them, in which places and with which new friends?

But before the new chapter begins, let’s take a moment to recall the wonderful evening we shared together….

The venue was nothing short of superb, surpassed only by the magnificence of the students’ appearance – flowing gowns, glittering dresses, designer suits and amazing hair styles. The musical entertainment provided by the Jahanpour sisters Hoda and Nura, Mina Cho and Jun-Min, and Zuzana Zilinska, would have graced any Hollywood awards ceremony, and the valedictory addresses spoke with fondness of the school and gratitude for how it had prepared the students for their future lives.

The ‘Happy’- video choreographed, performed and edited by the IB students themselves spoke volumes about their creativeness, technical skills and sense of fun (if not so much about their dancing skills). Indeed, the speeches from the staff described how this year group has always been ‘just that little bit special’, with many of the students having spent almost, if not all of their school life at BISB.

With the main formalities over, it was time to raise a glass to salute the Class of 2014 and to embark upon the sumptuous feast prepared for the occasion. Standing in the buffet queue gave ample opportunity to chat casually with colleagues, friends, parents and students, and to find out more about future plans. Once the meal was over, the students went outside to release balloons into the night sky, a symbolic gesture of their own imminent flight into the wider world.

A word of thanks must go to the main organiser of the event, Lucia Mozolova, who almost single-handedly put the evening’s programme together. It was a well-orchestrated event which uncoiled seamlessly from start to finish.

And so, the school is somewhat diminished with the departure of the Class of 2014, those big characters who have frustrated us, tormented us and at times pleased us, too, but it’s pretty certain that we shall be hearing a lot about and from them in the future.

Farewell, Class of 2014. May the road you travel lead you to where you want to go, and if it doesn’t, then choose a different road.

Au revoir from all of the staff at BISB.