Prizegiving 2024

The Portsmouth Grammar School annual Prizegiving Ceremony took place at the Guildhall, Portsmouth this week with every pupil in the Senior School and Sixth Form attending to celebrate the successes of the last academic year. 

Mr David Wickes, Head of The Portsmouth Grammar School welcomed the pupils, parents and staff underlining how coming together for events like this makes PGS a strong community. Over 200 prizes were then handed out to pupils celebrating academic, co-curricular and community achievements. Former pupils who have just embarked on their academic journey beyond PGS returned to receive prizes including Diarmuid B who was awarded the Neil Blewett Award which recognises the dedication of a pupil who is a true ambassador for the school and whose achievements have been accomplished in the spirit of the school’s values, Sienna C who was awarded the Robert Milne Trophy  which recognises a pupil who has given outstanding service to PGS, and Sophie H who was awarded the Lt Norman Holbrook Challenge Trophy presented to a pupil who shows outstanding leadership and excellent teamwork.  

The assembled audience were then treated to a performance of an original work by Morning After, a Sixth Form pupil band, before the Guest of Honour, Olivier Evans, spoke. Olivier is a former PGS pupil, and is the son of previous PGS Head, Mr Tony Evans. Describing Portsmouth as his emotional home, Olivier spoke engagingly to pupils about his work within the diplomatic service and that what he has learnt so far in life is how important it is to be resilient.  

“As I’ve grown and dreamed of excelling in jobs and being a high-flier,” said Olivier, “I’ve learned that it’s more important to learn to bounce than to fly. Resilience is about the strength to keep going, especially when things get tough, the ability to bounce back, and ideally bounce forward.” 

“It takes three things,” he continued. “Courage, commitment and collaboration within a community – three of your school values. First, courage. Resilience starts with bravery. You have to be brave enough to try, even when you might fail. Here’s a secret: even the most successful people fail. 

Did you know that Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time, was dropped from his school team? 

Steve Jobs, who brought in the iPhone, was originally fired by Apple before coming back. 

J.K. Rowling was rejected by 12 publishers before Harry Potter became a hit. 

Beethoven overcame his deafness to write some of his greatest works. His resilience exemplifies triumph over adversity. 

Courage means picking yourself up after failure and giving it another go. 

Second, commitment. 

Resilience isn’t just about trying—it’s about keeping on trying. It’s about sticking to something, even when it’s hard. Think about your sports teams or your schoolwork. You don’t get good at something by giving up when it’s tough. You get good by showing up, putting in the hours, and refusing to quit. 

I mentioned Roger Black earlier. A world class Olympic medallist in the 400m. A pupil at this school who played rugby and didn’t even know he could run fast until he was in the sixth form. 

Before he became a champion, he lost countless times, he made many mistakes. 

But he took those mistakes, learnt from them, and came back better, becoming one of our very best British athletes. 

The trick isn’t never to fail. 

The trick is to bounce back, even better than before. 

And finally, collaboration and community. 

Here’s the great thing about resilience—you don’t have to do it alone. Your family, your friends, your teachers, and even your teammates—they’re all here to help you bounce back when life gets tough.” 

The event was concluded by Juliette F, Head Prefect who thanked Olivier for his speech. “Reflecting on my own time here at PGS,” said Juliette, “it’s clear that our core values aren’t just words we hear in assemblies and here at prizegiving, but actions we see all around us. Our school’s core values are things we all experience in different ways, and they’ve shaped who we are as people, and as a school.” 

The full transcript of Juliette’s speech can be read here.