‘There she was just a-walkin’ down the street, singing… doo wah diddy diddy dum diddy do!’

Last week, I found myself transported back in time at The Plowright Theatre in Scunthorpe. I was sitting beside my father, both of us happily roaring along to The Manfreds as they surprisingly belted out their 1964 smash hit Doo Wah Diddy Diddy’, despite the lead singer being well into his 80s. It was a real reminiscence ride of joy for my dad, and indeed the other 350 silver-haired (or no-haired!) audience members, the sort of nostalgia that made them tap their toes and feel decades younger. But returning to The Abbey this week, I realised that nostalgia isn’t just about old rockers in North Lincolnshire; it’s a universal feeling of ‘warm-and-fuzzy’ that’s also currently sweeping through our own school corridors.

Nostalgia is essentially a social comfort: a mental scrapbook that helps us link our past to our present. And right now, this feeling is hitting two different groups in our school in the same, bittersweet way.

First, the Upper VI A level students. As they look forward to their study leave next week, and the immense world of opportunities beyond our gates, they are also looking back at the past seven, and in some cases 14, years. Their nostalgia is quiet and understated, yet obvious in the way they are taking walks around the school together, catching up with teachers who taught them in previous years, and realizing that these bustling, joyful school days are ticking down. They are already missing a time that hasn’t even finished yet.

Then, there are the Lower IIIs up the hill. Due to leave behind the small world of the Junior School, one which they have quite rightly started to grow out of, they arrive weekly at the Senior School for lunch, swimming and their language lessons, already looking at home, raring to start their next journey. But they too are starting to countdown their lunchtimes on their playground, reflecting on the happy times they have faced both in their final year and indeed, for many of them, all of their educational life.

What connects both year groups is that mix of sentimental longing and unbridled excitement for what comes next. These students are acknowledging where they have been, holding those memories tight, and using them as a strength to face the future.

The Scunthorpe theatre crowd reminded me that nostalgia can be a peaceful resting place, a way to savor memories. But back in our school corridors, that soul-stirring feeling serves a very different purpose. For our students, looking back is about finding the fuel to move forward. They are gathering up every Junior School joy and Senior School success, tucking them into their pockets like lucky charms for their next amazing chapters. Whilst my Dad and his contemporaries were happy to dwell in the sweetness of the song, our students are using those melodies to find their own rhythm. As they head toward study leave and new beginnings, they are living proof that great past experiences give you the confidence to walk boldly into the future. Whether they choose to sing ‘doo wah diddy diddy dum diddy do!’ whilst they take those steps is another matter…

George Morton, Deputy Head