Last week was a time for celebration at St David’s College as we held our annual 2026 Leavers Celebration at Cardiff’s Metropolitan Cathedral of St David.
It was a night that brought together teachers, families and friends to celebrate the incredible hard work and achievements of our learners.
The evening got underway with a short speech from Dean of Catholic Life and Mission, Peter Knight. He described the event as a time for all of us to take a step back, admire and celebrate the inspiring efforts of our students over the last two years.
Archbishop Emeritus George Stack, representing Archbishop Mark O’Toole, was next to speak. He congratulated our students on their academic success, but also took time to commend them for their positive outlook and personal development.
Father Benny then led the Cathedral in prayer before the ceremony moved on to the first awards. Over 100 of our exceptional students came away from the evening with a subject-specific certificate.
Students earned these awards for everything from fantastic achievement in their area of learning to outstanding grades, studentship and remarkable improvement. These certificates were for those learners who stood out for all the right reasons in their subject cohort.
These moments of celebration gave way to a deeply moving musical performance by Upper Sixth student Molly Underwood, who sang One Perfect Moment from the musical Bring It On.
The performance gave everyone in the Cathedral a chance to reflect on our students’ outstanding work and achievements, before Valedictorian Ahmet Razi delivered a thought-provoking speech.
He spoke of brilliant staff who have gone above and beyond to support students, the sense of togetherness across the college, and the immense hard work of his fellow learners.
Ahmet also emphasised that, outside of their studies, and regardless of how difficult it may be, St David’s students always strive “to do what is right.”
It was then time to hand out the Legacy Awards.
These three awards honour former St David’s students who were tragically taken from us far too soon, and each award proudly bears their name.
The Alesha O’Connor Award, given to a former student of St Richard Gwyn R.C. High School for their contribution to the community, was awarded to Elle Eyao.
The Tom Channon Award, given to a former student of St Richard Gwyn R.C. High School for outstanding academic achievement, was awarded to Mali Robinson.
The Helen Vickery Award, given to a student for an outstanding contribution to Catholic Life, went to Mariah Lynch.
Upper Sixth student Martha Kirk then gave a stirring musical performance, giving those in attendance another opportunity to appreciate the winners and take a moment to think of the former students whose names the awards honour.
The final set of awards recognised nine incredible students for their outstanding achievements across the college.
Kicking off the awards was the Saint Carlo Acutis Award, presented to Ben Thomas for outstanding studentship in the learning area of Business, Economics, and IT.
Next came the St Thomas More Award, with Maryam Shahbaz recognised for outstanding studentship in the learning area of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences.
The Blessed Benedetta Bianchi Porro Award recognised Sheyonne Jayathilaka for outstanding studentship in the learning area of Maths.
In English, Kian Latham received the St Oscar Romero Award for outstanding studentship in the learning area.
Maks Figurski was recognised with the St Hildegard of Bingen Award for outstanding studentship in the learning area of Science.
For outstanding studentship in the learning area of Performance and Arts, Agnes Rees-Lever received the St John Paul II Award.
Recognising outstanding achievement in the face of adversity, the Chris Whelan Award went to Evan Davenport.
Eythan Viernes received the Canon leuan Wyn Jones Award for outstanding contribution to the religious life of the college.
Rounding off the awards, Catrin Carter received the Dom Bryon Award for outstanding contribution to College Life.
Following these last awards, it was time for the final musical interlude of the night, a duet of Let Me Be Your Star by Mark Shaiman, performed by Molly and Martha.
Principal Geraint Williams then brought the evening to a close with a short speech in which he congratulated students and staff for their brilliant work over the last two years. He also reflected on the words of St David, emphasising his instruction to “do the little things” as it’s these little things that help make the big things possible.
Well done to everyone who won an award – you have made a lasting mark on St David’s during your time here.
