Councillor Peter Burgess – Speech on Graduation Day – 3 March 2018
Head master, Staff, Students, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to your graduation.
Language is most important as we can then communicate and understand other people and races.
Mrs Hunter has just referred to the success of your concert at the end of last year. I was there and enjoyed it very much.
One of the things the English do is to make fun of themselves. When you realise this, you will fully understand our way of life.
One of the highlights of the concert was what is called the “first half closer”. Here three senior girls, beautifully dressed, gave us a rendering of “Three Little Girls” from the Mikado. They did it with gestures, humour and panache, in a very funny and successful act.
I am here to present the Ambassadors Cup to Miss Tomoko Matsunaga. This is for the student who has made a significant contribution to improving relations between Japan and the UK.
She took part in the UK/JAPAN Young Scientist Workshop at Cambridge last summer, as well as the UCL-Japan Young Challenge, where she played a significant role in assisting communication between students due to her excellent English.
It gives me great pleasure to present her with this cup and to wish her, and all of you immense success in your futures.
