Mr Lowdell said I am so proud of our staff and students coming together to show their respect at this remembrance event every year. Given the size of our school its not always easy to gather on mass, but when we do it always reminds us of how privileged we are to be part of such an amazing community.

We remember the bravery, the sacrifice, and the humanity of all those who gave their lives in service to others — and we give thanks for the peace and freedoms we enjoy today.

At 11 o’clock, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the guns of the First World War fell silent. That moment in 1918 marked the end of a conflict that had claimed more than 16 million lives worldwide, including over 900,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers. Many of those who fought and died were barely older than some of our Sixth Formers. Some even younger than our Year 11 students.  They came from towns, cities, and villages like ours. They had hopes, ambitions, and friendships — and they went willingly, believing they could make a difference.

In the Second World War, which followed just two decades later, the scale of loss was even greater — an estimated 60 million people across the world. Soldiers fought across continents and oceans, while civilians faced unimaginable hardship at home: the Blitz, rationing, displacement, and the daily fear of loss.

War did not end there. Since 1945, British men and women have served in conflicts and peacekeeping missions around the world — from Korea to the Falklands, Iraq to Afghanistan, Kosovo to Ukraine. Just last week, Britain deployed Royal Airforce specialists to Belgium to support in countering the drone threats to its country’s airports from a foreign threat.  

The names and locations may change, but the courage, service, and sacrifice remain constant.
Remembrance is not about glorifying war. It is about recognising its cost — the human stories behind the statistics.
It is about remembering that every name carved into a memorial represents a life: a son, a daughter, a parent, a friend. It is about understanding how fragile peace is — and how precious.

But even in the darkest times, there was resilience. Out of the mud and destruction of the battlefields, poppies began to grow — bright red against the brown earth. They became a symbol of both loss and hope: a reminder that life continues, that remembrance brings renewal.

And that’s what we do this morning — we remember, and we renew.
We renew our Commitment — to living with compassion and purpose.
We renew our belief in Opportunity — ensuring every generation learns from the past to shape a better future.
We renew our Respect — for those who served, for those who suffered, and for one another.
And we renew our pursuit of Excellence — in how we act, how we speak, and how we make our world a fairer, kinder place.

As you grow and take your place in society, each of you will carry forward the message of remembrance. You may never face the kind of conflict those earlier generations did, but you do face challenges of your own — challenges of understanding, of tolerance, of standing up for what is right. The lessons of remembrance are not only about war; they are about humanity.

In a world where conflict still exists, where divisions and injustices remain, we can all choose to be people who bring peace, not harm. We can choose to show empathy, not anger. We can choose to understand before we judge.
Those choices — small though they seem — are how we truly honour those who gave so much.

Everyone then paused for our two-minute silence. Two minutes may not seem long, but in those moments of stillness, we join millions of others across the country and across generations. We stand united — in gratitude, in remembrance, and in hope.

Let us use that silence not only to think of the fallen, but to reflect on what we can learn from their courage — and how we can carry those lessons into our own lives, here in our school and beyond.