Hasmonean Girls brings graduation ceremony to sixth formers’ doorsteps

The coronavirus pandemic meant the graduating sixth-formers at Hasmonean Girls’ High School couldn’t attend the leaving ceremony they had imagined.

So instead the Mill Hill school brought it straight to their doorsteps with a music-blasting float decked with brightly-coloured balloons.

Determined to stop the health crisis from ruining their students’ graduation, Jewish studies joint deputy heads Debbie Paster and Yael Hamer found private sponsorship to help turn the unique idea into a reality.

Headteachers, rabbis and six form heads manned the vehicle all day on Wednesday as they visited every one of the 60 students whose leaving event had been called off.

Graduates were treated from a distance to music, a personalised speech, a gift and their own graduation cap to wear during a virtual event on Zoom.

“It’s been heartbreaking for students who were told their school careers had ended, their exams were cancelled and effectively told ‘that’s it’,” said Paster.

“So we wanted to ensure they leave Hasmonean with the bang they deserve. We try and live by the lessons we teach, and showing the value of every individual is something we hoped this crazy idea would leave our students with for the rest of their lives,” she said.