Attendance at the North East England Japanese Saturday School Graduation Ceremony (22nd March 2025)

On Saturday, 22 March, Deputy Consul General Minori Ishii attended the graduation ceremony for the North East England Japanese Saturday School. Deputy Consul General Ishii gave a congratulatory speech to the graduating class of two kindergarten students, 7 primary school students, and 5 junior high school students. Whilst praising the students’ efforts so far she said, "Whilst also attending local, UK schools from Monday to Friday every week, in just one class a week you also learned an entire week’s worth of material which would be covered in a Japanese school over a five day period. It is not difficult to imagine how hard it must have been to prepare for that class and do the required homework. There must have been many times when you wanted to quit Saturday School. However, each one of you overcame all of that and made it to this bright day. You've really worked hard."
In addition to the presentation of diplomas and commemorative gifts, the ceremony also featured a heartfelt farewell speech from a representative of the current students and a moving reply speech from a representative of the graduating class, making it a solemn and moving ceremony from start to finish.