A team of sailors from Victory Squadron recently visited Trafalgar School, Portsmouth to support a Flag raising Ceremony.
Attending the event were The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Ken Ellcome, Commodore Andy Cree and Commander Matt Stratton, Chair of Governors and a host of other guests, to witness and support the 'Raising of the House Flags'.
This is an historic event in the school's long history and was an opportunity to celebrate and commemorate the work of the student body in leading their houses and helping to drive the school forward on their transformational journey to success.
The attendance of The Lord Mayor at the ceremony was even more significant as he is a former student at the school, attending the Technical High School as it was known then.
Each Student Head of House wrote a speech and presented it to the guests, students and staff, speaking highly of and with conviction about their houses and why they were so honoured to represent them and be a part of our community.
They talked about the history of their ships in the Battle of Trafalgar and how they had shown courage, resilience and strength to become victorious.
This was an important event for Trafalgar School, beginning when the school moved to a House pastoral system this year. The school also launched its five core values that were selected by the students as the most vital to a successful community such as ours; Respect, Community, Resilience, Aspiration and Inclusion.
The students voted on their House names and selected the four ships involved in the Battle of Trafalgar. A whole school tutor competition was then launched for students to design their ‘House Flag’ with our core values also at the fore. The winning students worked with a graphics designer to produce their final design, which was then turned into the school’s flags.
The students who designed the flags were present to see them raised by four sailors from HMS Collingwood. It was a very proud moment for the Head teacher, students, staff and guests to witness.
The Head teacher, staff and students sent their appreciation and thanks to HMS Collingwood and the 4 sailors in attendance for assisting and supporting them with the event to ensure it was a prestigious and memorable ceremony in the school's history.
