On Friday, 29th May, we celebrated the IB Graduation, marking the end of an important chapter for our 58 graduating students. Our graduates are taking the next big step in their academic journeys, with university destinations including King’s College London, UCL, Oxford, Edinburgh, Manchester, Maastricht, Utrecht, Amsterdam, IE University in Madrid, and Trinity College Dublin.

Students arrived and headed to the sports hall, where they slipped into their gowns and put on their caps. The ceremony officially began with a short introduction from our Executive Director, Martin Harris. This was followed by a meaningful speech from Sam Moinet, our guest speaker and founder of Bora Education. Matt Tompkins, Director of Dukes Portugal, also shared inspiring words of encouragement with the graduates. During the ceremony, students were consistently honored for demonstrating essential values such as curiosity, empathy, resilience, and responsibility. Students also took to the stage alongside a former student, delivering speeches that reflected on their experiences and offered words of encouragement to the graduating class.

Music also played a special role in the celebration. During the musical interlude, students performed well-known songs, including On Top of the World, creating a magical atmosphere as audience lit up the room with their mobile phones, swaying along to the music.

Everyone eagerly awaited the presentation of diplomas, which proved to be the standout moment of the night. As each graduate crossed the stage, their intended university destinations were publicly announced, reflecting the diversity of their aspirations. They will soon branch out globally across diverse disciplines, from engineering and medicine to the arts, history, and philosophy, while a few have chosen to take a gap year before continuing their studies.

Mia, our IB Coordinator, who had been deeply involved in organising the event from the outset, shared heartfelt and humorous anecdotes about both students and teachers.

After the ceremony, students gathered on the football pitch for the traditional group photograph before letting their graduation caps fly in a symbolic toast to good luck. The celebration continued with cocktails as guests gathered to commemorate the significant milestone. We would like to wish all of our graduates every success and happiness as they embark on this exciting new chapter of their lives. Congratulations to Class of 2026. We are immensely proud of your accomplishments and excited to witness your future endeavours.