Values help Worth focus on the individual
Fri, Jun 6th, 2025
Our departing Head Girl and Head Boy delivered outstanding talks on Speech Day about the importance of the School’s values and how Worth focuses on the individual.
Speech Day is one of the biggest days of the academic year at Worth and this year a packed Abbey Church listened with relish to excellent speeches by Head Girl Giada Ferrario and Head Boy Felix Bateman-Champain.
Giada said: “At the beginning of our Worth career, we are told that Worth will offer us an education with heart and soul. Not to go against the slogan, but I would tend to disagree slightly. I believe that we are not only offered an education with heart and soul; we are given a home, a family and a journey with heart and soul that enriches our lives for far longer than we are here for.”
She added: “Worth has something to offer that I have not seen at any school before. It moulds people into examples of the Benedictine values that are at the core of our life here, even if one does not realise it. I see this in so many aspects of the School and in so many people, but one person in particular is my older brother, whom I never expected to use as an example for what kind of person I wanted to be; yet something in him remained even as he left Worth those two or three years ago that truly struck me: it was his values of kindness, community, responsibility and loyalty that all find their grounding within the School’s values. You see, these values are not something that you just hear about around school all the time and then forget about as soon as you leave Worth. They are instilled within you the moment you walk through these Abbey doors for the first time and follow you throughout the rest of your life.”
Felix, an England U18 rugby international during his time at Worth, said: “Sport has been a fundamental part of my journey at Worth and is at the centre of so many pupils’ lives here. Sport has helped to shape me not only as a player on the pitch, but as the person I’ve become off it.”
He added: “Worth hasn’t just educated me and made me and all my peers feel a part of a community. Worth has taught us a deeper lesson: too often, we let our identity become wrapped up in what we do – our grades, our trophies and, one day, our job titles. But if we are not careful, we risk losing who we are in the pursuit of what we want to become. That is one thing that makes Worth so special. Yes, there is a clear focus on achieving strong academic results but, even more so, there is a focus on becoming a better person throughout your time here.”
Thank you to Giada and Felix for everything they have done in their leadership roles this year and for representing the School superbly.
For more on an education at Worth click here.
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