Leavers’ Week felt more emotional after two disrupted years
Scott and Chris noticed social media filling with school-leaver videos.
Leaving school is emotional in any year.
In 2021, pupils had spent long periods learning remotely and missing normal routines.
The ending therefore carried extra weight.
Ormiston Sudbury Academy had already contacted the show after Scott and Chris praised the staff’s elaborate leavers’ video, which had attracted huge numbers of views online.
The presenters decided to give pupils a chance to thank teachers directly.
Eve wanted to thank one person
Sixteen-year-old Eve, finishing Year 11 in South Wales, chose her form tutor Mr Jones.
The production team contacted him under the vague pretence of doing a feature about teachers.
He had no idea Eve was involved.
Then Scott connected the call.
Eve told Mr Jones that he had been like a father figure to the form.
Even when the class had not won awards or things had gone badly, he helped them see the positive side.
Most importantly, she thanked him for the last two years.
Mr Jones had no idea what was happening
The surprise genuinely landed.
Mr Jones initially had to ask whether Eve was live or whether the message had been prerecorded.
Once he understood, he thanked her in return.
He said the form had been special to him too.
Despite the disruption of Teams lessons and pandemic restrictions, they had made the most of the time.
He told Eve she had been a star and urged her to fulfil her potential.
Then he widened the praise to the whole year group.
For him, the most important thing was not simply what pupils had achieved in the classroom.
It was the people they had become.
Scott and Chris were unexpectedly emotional
The feature had begun as a simple thank-you.
It ended with student and teacher both sounding genuinely moved.
Scott admitted he wished he had thanked teachers properly when he left school rather than simply running out and getting food with friends.
The call became one of the more sincere programme moments of the month.
Robbie the actor chose Bangers
Bangers also featured Robbie, an actor, while Don’t Look It Up asked Scott and Chris to identify number-one songs from the same date in previous years.
The episode moved back into the normal silliness after Mr Jones, but the teacher call remained the obvious centrepiece.
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