Annual graduation: After 14 years and with heavy hearts, Beaconhouse students leave school

More than 200 O’ and A’ level students of the 2013 batch graduated on Friday.

KARACHI:

For graduates of the Beaconhouse School System’s PECHS campus, the graduation ceremony on Friday was one moment that hoped to hang on to all their lives.

“On my first day at school, I did not want to go and now I just do not want to leave,” said Usman Khalid, one of the valedictorians, as he spoke on behalf of his classmates. “It’s a story of 14 life-building years at the Beaconhouse that leaves a trail of unforgettable memories.”

More than 200 O’ and A’ level students of the 2013 batch attended the graduation ceremony at Bahria Auditorium.  University of Karachi acting vice-chancellor Dr Abuzar Wajidi, who is also the management and administrative sciences dean, was the chief guest at the ceremony.

The ambience was heavy with a blend of colognes and perfumes but the general mood was not as lively as one would expect from an assembly of teenagers. Perhaps it was their sadness at leaving their alma mater that the thought of their teachers and friends overshadowed any excitement for the upcoming years in colleges.

Dr Wajidi was invited to the stage to hand over medal and certificates to the graduating class as one-by-one the students, clad in black graduation robes, walked to the stage to collect their prizes.

The school’s principal, Irum Ali, told The Express Tribune that the 149 O’ level and 77 A’ level students of the campus, who took the exams in June this year, had managed to achieve a total of 49 A*’s and 84 A’s. The school awards gold medals to those students who are able to achieve eight A’s or more.

The principal, known for addressing her students with an almost motherly ‘mera bacha’, had some succinct but valuable advice for them. “Pursue your passion and for that you have to take control of your life and make your own decisions,” she said. “And never forget to give back. Be generous.”

For the school’s headmistress, Madiha Shaikh, the graduation day arrives with mixed feelings of happiness and melancholy each year. “I am sad because my students are leaving but what gives me strength is the fact that they have moved on to better places to have a great future,” she said.

Dua Akhtar, another valedictorian who managed to score 11 straight A’s, was very sure of this. “Today, we have this confidence to get into anything and accomplish everything.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2013.