Lord Winston tells graduating Clore Tikva pupils: ‘Never be afraid to fail!’

Famous scientist Lord Robert Winston told graduating Jewish primary school children at Clore Tikva to “never be afraid to fail”, as they said goodbye to their teachers this week.

Year 6 students at the London school had their family members participate in the virtual graduation ceremony, during which they heard from scientist, writer and TV personality Lord Winston as he delivered the keynote speech.

It provided an opportunity for friends and family to wish Year 6 good luck for the future “from the comfort of their homes,” the school said.

Following a special lunch laid on by the school, the children were met with a staff guard of honour, clapping them out as they left for their last summer before starting secondary school in September.

In his speech, Winston spoke about “the Jewish tradition of looking at things scientifically to understand how things work to help nature and ourselves”.

Addressing the unnerving feeling generated by the pandemic, he said: “Do not be frightened of failure. We need to learn to fail, to overcome failure and continue to challenge and work in collaboration making new friends. Remember, everything around us is wonderful and must be enjoyed.”

To add to the excitement Katya Jones from TV show Strictly Come Dancing surprised the children with a video message, thanking them for their courage and maturity over the past few months.

Headteacher Margot Buller said: “We understand how difficult the past few months have been on our pupils, so it was important we arranged an extra special event to show the children how proud we are of them, enabling us to say thank you for their extraordinary maturity and strength that they have showed.”