It was an absolute pleasure to be invited to attend the Class of 2025 Congregation for the conferment of Degrees and Awards for the Wonder Student teachers of 2024 – 2025, at York Minster on Tuesday 18th November 2025. Some of our student teachers have remained in the York area, however, it was lovely to see that Evie, our PE teacher who is working in an international school in Rome, had made time to fly home for her graduation. Tom and Hollie who have moved to Brighton, also made the trip back to York, whilst Alex one of our primary school student teachers, was not able to make it, as she is now teaching in Australia and plans to move their permanently. It is lovely to think that the Wonder teachers are not only supporting schools in our local community but also having a wider impact on children’s education both nationally and internationally.

This year marked the 50-year anniversary of the merger of York St John’s founding colleges, the College of Ripon and York St John. To celebrate this pivotal point in the York St John University’s journey, York St John University created the College of Ripon and York St John 50 Year Alumni Prize. This prize was awarded to 50 student teachers, with university staff nominating winners based on their community drive, resilience and their support of others during their studies, which are key values held by the alumni community. We were very proud to see that Megan, one of our primary Wonder Student Teachers, was chosen to receive this prize. Megan is a very deserving recipient as she demonstrated all these key qualities throughout her training year and is currently working in one of our Wonder schools.

All the Wonder student teachers passed this year, and although not all were able to make their graduation, there was a buzz of excitement during and after the ceremony, making this a very special day for all involved. I spoke with some of our student teachers after the ceremony, and they were primarily concerned with not falling over, but clearly very excited to have had the opportunity to take part in this iconic event, in such a beautiful and historic landmark of York. Although the ceremony was very special, it was more importantly a validation of all the hard work, determination and commitment our student teachers had shown throughout their training year. We are so very proud of all their achievements and continue to wish them all the best for the future and look forward to hearing more about their teaching endeavours.