Leaving With A Bang
The past 13 years have not only been an education-filled rollercoaster, but also have really shaped me as a person. As cheesy as it sounds, I have grown and achieved so much more than I imagined I could during this time. Undoubtably, everyone has their hard times throughout primary, and particularly secondary school – however I am lucky enough to say I think my good times have outweighed the bad. Whether that be making new friends, tightening the bonds of childhood mates or realising that change is good and sometimes letting go of things is the best way forward. I love the memories I have made and the adventures that have been had. I’ll never forget the little things –such as the expressions on my friends’ faces, mid food fight, as we heard a single ring come from the phone of our French hostel room. The second we heard it, everyone in the room stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the phone. As all rational teenagers do…we all scattered at the speed of light and hid under beds, in the bathroom, and behind the door. We were on a class trip to Paris, and up until that point had executed a mission-impossible-worthy operation of sneaking the six girls in my dorm room, down the corridor to the boys’ room. This was a great achievement because the girls were staying in the room next to our strict French teacher, and we had a ridiculously loud door handle (at the time it seemed like it would wake up the whole hostel… but looking back it was just a little bit noisy and could not necessarily distinct enough to be recognised as OUR specific room). Either way, it was an amazing night fuelled with excitement and a lot of violently thrown French sweets.
As of last week, I have now (unofficially) left school and finally completed my school career. ‘Technically’ I will have officially leave school at the start of June, however it is study leave now and therefore Thursday and Friday were my last days real of attending school and being with all my friends. In Plockton High School, we have many traditions. One of which is that all the Leavers have a ‘formal lunch’ on the second last day of school (followed by a legendary beach party). The last day is therefore left for ‘resting’ as most of people feel a little worse-for-wear after the party’s antics. A football match is also held between teachers and the S6 (Leavers). Typically, the students win but it’s always a tough battle when you’re faced with tackling a hangover AND your maths teacher. They are unforgettable days and something that every first year eagerly looks up to in anticipation.
It felt very strange as I walked into school on Thursday morning, laden with a rucksack, tent and heels. Admittedly, a bit of an odd combination but that’s just how we do it in the Highlands. Just because we’ve got a posh, dressed up lunch at 14:00, doesn’t mean we aren’t prepared to swap the heels for wellies at 15:00 and walk through smelly cow fields to find a beach (in the rain & hail). The day was started by a trip away for all the Leaving students. Considering we are a small school, there was only about 40 of us in our year. We decided on a small, inexpensive activity – a seal boat trip. To be more specific… Calum’s Seal Boat Trip around Plockton bay. This trip is not only a great day out but is also very sentimental to teenagers our age because almost every child went on a primary school day out on this boat. Therefore, it seemed very fitting to have our last school day out, the same way we started. The boat trip was packed with laughter and soggy blankets from torrential rain. Never the less, our teenage mob enjoyed it regardless of the rain…and yes, we did see lots of adorable seals.
Here’s a few pic of a cutie around 13 years ago on the famous seal boat trip…
After all the seals had been seen and we were sufficiently drenched, we made our way back up the road to the High School. The next thing on the agenda was the traditional ‘formal lunch’. This is an annual lunch at a very nice local seafood restaurant. All the Leavers get dressed up nicely and have a lovely final meal together. The girls transformed one of the corridors at school into, what looked like, a very professional makeup and hair salon. This came as a bit of a surprise to the younger students at the school as they cautiously walked through the corridor between classes. Once everyone was suited-and-booted, we have a ridiculous amount of photos taken until our faces hurt from continuous smiling. Everyone looked stunning and it really showed how we’ve all grown, matured and blossomed over the years.
Once we had devoured our delicious lunch at the Plockton Inn (I definitely recommend a visit if you’re ever in Plockton!), the girls were chauffeured back to the school in a mini bus by our generous PE teacher – Mr Smith. We had previously begged him to take us to the restaurant because it was raining but, in all honesty, in was actually because we were all wearing gorgeous high heels and couldn’t manage the 15 minute walk down the hill to Plockton village. It was a rush to get changed when we arrived back but we managed it and now only had to wait for the night’s antics to commence.
My friends and I reassembled in Plockton in the early evening, ready for the night ahead. We set up camp at the beach and quickly rushed to the local chippy before it shut. On our journey back, we met more people on the way to the beach. We had a fabulously warm bonfire and cute little collection of tents pitched up on the hill. Although the weather was forecast to make the night doomed, the showers stayed off (mostly), allowing us all to have a great time. We sang songs and laughed at the inevitable, booze-fuelled dancing in the dark.
The next morning, the embers of the fire were still glowing as we sat around and talked about the on-goings of the night before. My friend, Duncan, helped me pack up my horrendously muddy tent (which I later spent an entire day cleaning) and we headed back to the school. Our teachers had laid on a special breakfast for all the Leavers, as they were aware of the traditional ‘coral beach party’. Even the Rector of the school was dishing out bacon rolls like there was no tomorrow. Dressed in my Eeyore onesie…yes, I really did traipse around school for the whole day in my pj’s…I spent most of the day laying on sofa chairs in our recreational area at school (also known as ‘The Fort’). Then in the afternoon, the Teachers vs S6 football match kicked off. (Still dressed in my onesie) I sat outside on the AstroTurf pitch and watched the tense battle between young and old. To the delight of all spectators, there was a visiting Cockapoo puppy! If you are unaware, a Cockapoo is a cross between a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle; consequently it is THE CUTEST ball of fluff around (and really does cheer you up when you’re hungover, at school and in your pyjamas).
Unfortunately, the teachers won the match on an excruciating series of penalties after full time had been called. Despite this we all enjoyed the past few days and it definitely didn’t dampen our mood. We all had a thrilling time and left in high spirits. I look forward to the next stage of my life and all the adventures I’m bond to have. But for now I am just appreciating what I have and am thankful of what I have gained over the last 13 years.
Until next time…
X
