Farewell speech by an outgoing student

Good afternoon, respected Principal, dear teachers and my friends. Today is our last gathering as students of this school. I came here as a small child who cried at the gate. I leave as someone who does not want to go. Thank you, teachers, for your patience. Thank you, friends, for the laughter. Thank you, juniors, for this lovely farewell. We will carry this school with us wherever we go. Please keep it shining. Thank you.

Respected Principal, our beloved teachers, dear juniors and my batchmates, good afternoon. I thought this speech would be easy to write. It was not. How do you fit so many years into three minutes?

I still remember my first day at [School Name]. I held my mother's hand tightly at the gate and did not want to come in. Today I am standing at the same gate, in my mind, and I do not want to go out. That is what this school has done to us.

To our teachers: thank you. You taught us subjects, but you also taught us to stand in a line, to say sorry, to lose a match without sulking and to win one without boasting. You believed in us on the days when our marks gave you no reason to. We know we were not always easy. Please forgive the noise, the excuses and the homework that the dog supposedly ate.

To my batchmates: we have shared tiffins, secrets, punishments and one very long bench. From tomorrow our timetables will be different, but I hope our friendship stays the same. Let us promise to meet, and not only on screens.

To our juniors: thank you for this wonderful farewell. You have made us feel like stars. The school is in your hands now. Take care of the teachers; they will miss scolding us. And enjoy every day here, even the Monday tests. You will miss them sooner than you think.

We leave with our bags full of memories and our hearts full of thanks. Wherever we go, we will try to make this school proud. Thank you, [School Name]. Goodbye, and God bless you all.