The following is the transcribed speech by Samuel Warburton, our Senior Prefect for 2024. It was given on Senior School Speech Day, Friday, 6 December. He gives thanks to our great Â鶹ֱ²¥ community for the support they have shown to him and the entire 2024 cohort. Please enjoy.
What an honour it has been to have the Reverend Tim Costello speak to us today, someone who, though you grew up in Victoria, overflows with a spirit of generosity and humility. In fact, whilst scrolling your Wikipedia page, I was shocked to see just some of the physical evidence of your work: raising well over $100 million for the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami and developing World Vision into an organisation that today supports over 200 million people across the globe. I felt particularly enlightened by…
It is an absolute pleasure to be able to speak to you all today; though I’m certain the men of Â鶹ֱ²¥ are somewhat reluctant about my ability to engage and retain their attention, I hope today I might encourage everyone in this room to press on with that Torch of Life – teachers, students, and families – whilst also thanking some very important people myself.
Firstly, I would like to address the parents and families in the room. To my Mum and Dad, thank you for your endless support and love for me, even amidst the challenges of life’s intrinsic uncertainty. You have been endlessly patient with me, and along with the unceasing efforts of my brothers Ben, Tom and Jem, have kept me grounded and humble this year. So, to my family, thank you.
One of the key memories of my time here has been my involvement with the rowing programme, in which generations of boys have been subjected to the endless whims of fatigue and physical pain, bleeding hands, Godlike ferries who effortlessly capsize boats, and the eternal struggle in competition against scores of other similar boys – all in the endless pursuit of a perfect stroke.
Along the way, and much to the exasperation of my Mum and Dad, I realised rowing is an all-embracing sport that not only requires the efforts of the boy involved but also the efforts of the families who then have to deal with said exhausted teenager at home. Across my seasons of rowing, I saw one of the key aspects that makes Â鶹ֱ²¥ such a good School: the involvement of the parents.
The involvement of the parents at the Boatshed, be they cooking breakfasts for 50 hungry boys at 6:30 in the morning, driving out to Penrith in the rain just to watch the end of a 2km race, or dropping off the infamous forgotten pair of socks after a morning session. This involvement typifies the involvement of Â鶹ֱ²¥ parents. Volunteers are plentiful, the canteen food at Northbridge is delicious, and the support that families provide to the success of the School is invaluable.
One of the joys of my role has been getting to know boys across all ages and stages of life, and I’ve heard more than I ever expected to about the effects of parents on the boys at Â鶹ֱ²¥. I hope I’m not speaking out of turn now, but please know that, though teenage boys might not be the most emotionally in-touch people, you have incredible impacts on their lives – please be encouraged, knowing that your endless efforts will bear fruit in the future. I would not be half the man I am now without the efforts of my family, and especially my parents.
I want to thank all of you, on behalf of the boys.
Which brings me to another core memory of Â鶹ֱ²¥ – the long hours I spent in the Drama Department. Spurred on by my brothers, I’ve been involved in Drama ever since I started at Â鶹ֱ²¥ in Year 7. Across countless rehearsals, late nights, and performances, I realise now that my memories in this space have taught me another essential aspect of Â鶹ֱ²¥’s success – the commitment of teachers.
Though she would never ask for this, I’d like to demonstrate this commitment through the tireless efforts of Ms Crompton, our Head of Drama. Throughout Year 12, each Drama student creates both an Individual and Group Project, which is a process entirely supported by the staff of the Drama Department. Across the Year, Ms Crompton met with me at least once and more often twice a week for an hour each session to practice my monologue for my Individual project. Not only that, but she’d spend at least four hours a week with my Group to create our performance for our Group Project.
Additionally, she taught two Year 12 classes for the theoretical aspect of the syllabus, worked with at least 13 other students on their Individual Projects, and spent more hours with every other Group Project. She also taught younger classes from Years 9, 10 and 11, produced shows, managed all the needs for the entire Department – and all of this is before she gets home to her family.
Whilst I speak of Ms Crompton, I have to thank all of my teachers for similar efforts across the Year. Mr Davis, Mr Clarke, Mr Pienaar, Mr Bentley, Ms Domingo, and Mr Dobes all demonstrated a similar level of dedication whilst also filling classes with humour and care – from Mr Pienaar excitedly sharing the fuel efficiency of his Toyota Rav4 with us, to Mr Davis’s Friday afternoon riddles.
But the excellence of Â鶹ֱ²¥ staff extends further. Throughout this year, every single one of my classroom teachers not only supported me academically but also checked in on me. Without fail, all of my teachers how my Mum was fighting her cancer and how I was dealing with it all. And it meant so much to me.
Of course, I must also thank two other monumental teachers who became a part of my family over the past years. Ms Gemell, as my tutor, is not only a woman of many talents but is perhaps the most utterly kind person I’ve met, and her support was something I was incredibly thankful for. I also must thank Ms Papworth, who instilled in me the value of hard work and humility and was just as willing to listen to the failures of my love life as she was to knock me down a peg when I needed it. I think it is an immense credit to your professional ability, Ma’am, that countless boys and men have come to trust you just as much as their own mothers.
I must also thank Dr Collier and Dr Mansfield for their leadership, wisdom and care. Your counsel will always be welcome, and I have learnt valuable lessons on leadership under your guidance.
And now, I must thank the men that are at the centre of Â鶹ֱ²¥ – they are the ones responsible for holding the Torch high.
Firstly, Chris. Mate, I would have been lost without your maturity and wisdom this year. Often the Second Prefect is stereotyped as just the right-hand man, the guy that does all the unwanted admin work. But you are a great leader in your own right, and your opinion is one I have come to trust and value entirely. Though we have bickered somewhat endlessly – even being likened to a married couple at times by our Prefect Body – you have grown into a man of incredible capacity and ability.
Finally, to the Men of Â鶹ֱ²¥. I’d like to reflect on the beauty of Â鶹ֱ²¥, and on something which I think is in danger of being lost.
And that something is the privilege it is to come to this School, where we are surrounded by brilliant teachers and committed parents, and where virtually any interest is catered for. The chance to see your mates five times a week, play in great sports teams, go on camps, play instruments, create performances, learn skills – this is not something the average student gets.
However, I know that the word ‘privilege’ is often thrown at you, and I also know that no words of mine will change how you see that word. So, for the final part of my speech, I’d like to simply recount the example of Charlie from my year.
Charlie is a man that is extremely academically talented, yet also has an immense work ethic. Charlie was not a Prefect, nor was he in a top Sports Team, yet every single time I or someone else had a conversation with him he would be engaged and would always create a good laugh. In the second half of this year, though, Charlie was rushed to hospital, where he found out that he had a double brain tumour and was rapidly plunged into operations and treatment.
When Charlie returned to School for the first time five weeks later, he struggled to walk unassisted, and it was painful to speak above a whisper. Yet he continued to return to School each day.
When I asked Charlie if I could talk about him in this speech, one of the questions I asked him was why he fought so hard to return to Â鶹ֱ²¥. And he replied by telling me how, with his whole life suddenly flipped upside down, he recognised what he loved at Â鶹ֱ²¥. He had good mates and good teachers, and he realised how important they were.
Gentlemen, your time here is limited. Soon enough, all the chances you have here will be done in the past, so don’t waste time here not realising what you have. Take the Torch, hold it high, and put all the effort you have into brightening that flame.
Vitai Lampada Tradunt.