RYDE School's annual Speech Day was a celebration of talents, successes, opportunities and progress as the school came together to celebrate the previous academic year.

Sir Anthony, former head of Wellington College and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, was speaker for the morning.

"I love this school", he said. Well known as an influential educationalist and writer on mindfulness and holistic education, he spoke of what made a great school.

For him, Ryde ticks all six boxes that really matter about what schools are for: positive education, coaching, the IB, mindfulness, character and holistic education.

He said: "In a world where schools are just working on people's minds, not their students' hearts, let alone their souls, Ryde has managed to ace the double of getting results and doing the holistic piece."

Individual talents, sports and exam successes, stories from school trips to Ghana, Durban and Cape Town and presentations of the activities carried out during the academic year were celebrated at the occasion.

Headmaster, Mark Waldron, talked about the opening of the new health and wellbeing centre at the school, created to support physical, medical, emotional and mental wellbeing.

He said: "At Ryde, we seek to provide every young woman and man who leaves here with not just the qualifications but the skills, character, resilience and values that will serve them well as 21st century citizens."

Musical entertainment opened and closed the ceremony, with a guitar solo from music scholar Thomas Nash opening the day and a performance from the cast of the summer musical, My Fair Lady, closing the day with leading lady Hannah Brown singing Wouldn't it be Lovely.