Last week, on Friday 13 June, I went to see Pulp playing to approximately twenty thousand fans at the O2 Arena in Greenwich. It is almost 30 years to the day that I first saw them play: last-minute, stand-in headliners at Glastonbury 1995, they took the festival by storm and cemented a place for themselves not just in Britpop history but also in my life as a gig-goer. In fact, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen them live (but I do remember once getting stuck to the barrier at the front of a venue because the paint had still been slightly wet when we’d taken our pre-show places, so we all had to peel ourselves away, paint-striped, at the end of the show). Abbey students, if you don’t know the name Jarvis Cocker, I highly recommend asking your parents (or perhaps even your grandparents) about him and his band. Even my very forgivingly tolerant Upper IV English class has had a little taste of his unique style as a treat at the start of a lesson this term. Just a snippet. I didn’t want to overwhelm them with old-person music!

Why am I telling you this? It feels a little self-indulgent, sharing my musical favourites with you in my final Abbey Connected before I leave the school to pursue new opportunities. Well, it aligns rather perfectly with Mr Ellis’ super assembly about the power of perseverance, a message we all need to hear, I think, as this academic year approaches its end. I was delighted, on Monday morning, not only to hear him talking about the advantages of staying the course when something gets difficult but also showing that marvellous, breathtaking clip, from David Attenborough’s ‘Planet Earth II’, of a baby iguana being chased by – and valiantly escaping from – predatory racer snakes. I should imagine that within the music industry or, indeed, within any competitive environment, it is possible for anyone to feel a little like that baby iguana at times, potentially doomed to failure when overwhelmed by seemingly insurmountable challenges. For Jarvis Cocker and his bandmates, the journey to success was lengthy; formed in 1978, when Cocker was only fifteen years old, it took over sixteen years for them to become widely recognised and achieve commercial success. He has talked about the periods of disillusionment he faced, referring to his younger self as having ‘this very strong feeling […] that I was just completely inept.’ Nevertheless, he kept going, believing in himself, in his band and in his right to be heard as an artist. Twenty four years since their last album, Pulp recently released ‘More’, the lead single from which, ‘Spike Island’, hears Cocker declaring, ‘I was born to perform, it’s a calling.’ Characterised by perseverance, just like the baby iguana whose energetic and determined journey we witnessed in assembly this week, Jarvis Cocker has shown the doubters – including himself – the power of never giving up, even when things seem impossible.

Now, after six years of working with countless remarkable young people at The Abbey, encouraging them, I hope, and reminding them of their worth and potential to be brilliant at any given moment, even if quietly so (and, believe me, those moments of quiet brilliance are often the most striking), it is time for my farewell. It is, as a teacher, a pleasure and privilege to play a snapshot role in so many burgeoning lives. We witness moments but not whole stories. Maybe those moments will make a positive difference, if not exactly as they’re happening then perhaps later, on reflection, when a memory may flicker into focus and a smile may take shape. Remember, things don’t always happen immediately: be patient: it can take time. Your journeys are likely to take you in directions you’ve not yet even imagined but, whichever roads you travel, my final message to you is always to believe in yourself and your ability to persevere, even when nothing seems to be going the way you intended. Picture that tenacious baby iguana wriggling free of the snakes’ clutches and hear the man who refused to give up on his dreams, Jarvis Cocker, singing ‘This time I’ll get it right.’ Because the truth is that you are getting it right, simply by keeping going and being you.

Dawn Bellamy, Deputy Head