Captain of Monitors Share Lessons For Life at UCS in Final Assembly

The role of a Monitor at UCS is a highly esteemed position within our pupil leadership structure. Following a rigorous and competitive application process, these dedicated students embody the school’s core values, acting as vital role models, supportive guides, and sources of inspiration for the entire community. The Captains of Monitors stand at the helm of this exceptional body. As their time draws to a close before departing for crucial A Level study leave at the end of this week, Captains Finn and Lizey delivered their final assembly, offering their peers invaluable reflections and advice.

Both: Good morning.
F: This is our last time speaking to you all like this. We’ve been given a whole assembly to speak in and we spent a long time discussing what to say to you all.

L: We finally decided to go with the age old final assembly theme and give you some advice. Now it might seem a bit weird seeing as we’re only a few years older than the youngest of you but this is not meant to be patronising or superior. We are here today really just to give you some tips and tricks we’ve learnt along the way that have helped us to navigate all the craziness of life both in and out of school.

F: And who knows, maybe we’ll impart a little bit of wisdom regarding the close of that journey too.

F: Get into school one morning early. Be the first to greet Boots at the gate. Be here when there’s frost on the tennis courts or for the first rays of sun peaking over the Lund. Be here when it’s silent and still and before the hum of anticipation begins around 8. Leave school one evening late. See darkness come on the school and the church steeple illumined above it. Turn out the lights of your classroom and wander through the halls on your way out wondering if people were ever taught here or walked here. Try taking one thing as far as it will go and see what happens. A hobby or an idea or a part of a subject that you really quite like. Take it somewhere interesting and see if UCS accommodates you. See if your teachers are not as enthused as you. You can’t outrun UCS. It’ll take whatever passion you give it and throw it back at you with more. So give it passion.

L: Further to the UCS scene, try taking a moment to actually talk to your teachers, or the lunch staff, or the people in the sixth form cafe. Not just about work or what you want to eat but ask them about their life, their favourite book, song, sport, they might put you onto something you’ve never heard of before. As much as you can get into the habit of thinking all adults around us have no life beyond their work at ucs, they tend to have some interesting stories to go alongside it. Just because you haven’t always been part of a club or a sports team or a band, doesn’t mean you can’t try joining one. With some of these you might feel like you’re really behind everyone who started earlier, and maybe you will have a few things to learn, but don’t sacrifice your chance at gaining a skill because you were too intimidated to start it late. If you’re running late to something and there’s nothing you can do about it, don’t run. You’ll just end up arriving sweaty about 1 minute earlier than you would have if you’d walked and it’s just not worth it. But, if you do want to make it look like you’ve put in that extra effort. Just run the last tiny bit, like just round the street corner, and people will think you’ve been doing it the whole way.

F: Go up and sit on the grassy bank in the sun. You know where I mean? At the top of the school where there are flowers and grass and it gets baking hot in summer. You can see the whole school from there. Bring a book. Always: if in doubt, breathe out. Branch out again and again. And don’t stop until your final day. You might meet your best friend the month before school ends. You might find a group of people who all love the same thing as you. You might find
someone you never want to stop knowing. But you won’t if you always stick with those few people you found on day one or knew before. Look up at the ceiling in the great hall. Do it now. Did you know it’s pink? Some people think it should be sky blue. I wonder what you think. I like it how it is. The dome of this place is enormous. The great hall is the heart of the school. Broad and capacious. And welcoming.

L: Despite this, I would advise that you beware the great hall. You may not be prone to fainting but after my grand entrance (which by the way is the first time I’ve ever fainted) I discovered that I am not the first person to faint in this room. Apparently, it’s happened quite a few times in the summer so, if you have to give an assembly when it’s hot, be on guard. More small but useful advice: always wear deodorant, it’s simple but important. Never say goodbye to someone when leaving an event until you know which way the other person is going. It almost invariably leads to the uncomfortable “oh, I didn’t realise you’re going this way too” conversation. Don’t hold the door if the other person is really far away. It’s nice of you but it ultimately ends up being awkward.

However, if you do decide to do this, I’m afraid you then must commit. Otherwise the situation is made even worse for them to rush just to get the door shut in their face when you decided to walk off.

F: And having walked off, remember when walking in the direction from the Lund to the Bentham block always to take the path that goes up on the right side of the football pitch. In summer there are flowers that blow by you as you pass and smell like heaven. Then: celer admissis labitur equis annus. Latin for: The swift year slips by carried on horses given rein to. Or as Charles Bukowski put it: the days run away like wild horses over the hills. Our time here is brief. Believe this though it may not feel like truth, now. Sometimes things are difficult and we don’t realise. Or sometimes we’re in our own heads and aren’t being kind. Sometimes it is reasonable in a place as huge as this to get lost. I stop here, waiting for you, and gently tell you that there are two school counsellors who are kind and listen and know what they’re doing. Whether it feels ginormous and heavy or silly and inconsequential. If you have heard about the school counsellors and what they do but haven’t thought much of it that’s perfectly all right. I would just say that they have helped me.

L: In fact, I feel like it’s pretty normal to forget that teachers are really on your side, when you’re also being asked where your homework is, or being told off for being late. But something I have found to be true at UCS is that teachers really ARE on your side, and more than you would maybe realise. Having had 1st or 2nd-hand experience of some very serious situations, I have been surprised by the level of support there has been for the people involved, no matter the scenario. So I guess what I’m saying is, you may not always think this is true but you really can trust the teachers to be there when you need them I also have good news for you, speaking as someone who has spent I imagine more time than most of you thinking things over perhaps a couple more times than appear necessary, it turns out that things are rarely as dramatic as they seem to be. As a self proclaimed expert, due to the fact that I believe I have spent the required 10, 000 hours overthinking, I can tell you that, while in your head, something may seem all consuming the outward world is unlikely to have paid nearly as much attention to it as you think. After all, no one is watching the movie of your life.

F: My final piece of advice: Thank People — teachers, cleaners, kitchen staff, friends — let the people around you know that you appreciate what they do. It’s as simple as that. You might even feel a little silly. Sometimes to know someone thinks of you when you’re not around is all anyone needs.

L: In relation to my earlier movie metaphor, and on a similar line to Finn’s last point, I wanted to end with a quote by one of my favourite childhood actors, the man who played Mrs Doubtfire, Robin Williams. I am always reluctant to quote people, mainly because I hate citing sources, but I believe this to be an exception and it is as follows. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.