When being an Old Bancroftian isn’t so great

Floreat Bancroftia!
Floreamus pueri!
Vivat et memoria,
Fundatoris nostri.
Nobis in aeternum,
Magni sint honores.
Floreat Bancroftia!
Floreant rectores!

Having recently attended the 109^th Old Bancroftian’s Annual Dinner Party, it was nice to have met familiar faces and teachers, and a shame to find out that current headmistress Mrs Ireland would be retiring at the end of this academic year. It was a good time, even with a few too many drinks; the salt cod “cappuccino” starter was really fishy (in a good way!), the lamb was nice and pink in the middle, and a sickly chocolate pudding finished the meal. The night was full of banter and everyone was glad to see some old faces.

If there was one thing that I didn’t do, it was properly singing the Bancroft’s School song – to be exact, I was lip-synching.

Blasphemous! Heresy! One could go on…

This was a foolish decision and one which could be considered to be a kick in the teeth. I feel that I’ve let down the teachers who I saw again – the ones who managed to make my horrible Sixth Form life a little bit more bearable until the end. I’ve always been a believer of actions speaking louder than words so I’m not going to excuse myself for what I did.

Unfortunately, I feel very detached from Bancroft’s School; for me, an Old Bancroftian is a label which I can’t say I’m 100% proud of. It is with great sadness that I was more than eager to leave after enduring a torrid Sixth Form marred with depression, and I rushed off to university, which helped me regain most of the confidence I had lost. I can, however, look back at previous years (up to GCSEs) with some fondness.

In the near future, I will sing Floreat Bancroftia, but not because I’m proud of being a Bancroftian. I will sing it for the individual teachers who actually wanted me to get through the mess and do well in the future. I feel that this is a fitting tribute to make up for some of the things that have happened, and maybe one day I will get that moment which reminds me to be proud of being an Old Bancroftian.