A couple of weeks ago the Delta Saxophone Quartet gave a concert of modern classical music at school and included the World Premiere of Moroque, Eliza’s A level music composition. I loved her piece the first time I heard it, fully appreciating how difficult she found its creation. Its fugual, contrapucntal structure is a work for tight knit intimate ensemble: no one instrument dominates, all have equal importance as their different tunes weave in and out coming together gloriously at the end. It was brilliant that she had a quartet of accomplished saxophonist mates for her A level performance.

The concert incorporated a tribute to the late Barry Graham, Eliza’s clarinet and saxophone teacher since the beginning of Alleyn’s, who was due to guest but died after a long illness almost exactly a year ago. Colleagues and pupils have paid several tributes to him during the last year. Barry was spoken of with such fondness on each of these occasions and I have shed several tears remembering when I first spoke to him at a parents’ evening six years ago and he told me how delighted he was to be teaching “Little Eliza.” She will be dedicating her ATCL clarinet diploma exam performance to him later this month in a final act of closure.

It’s such an intimate relationship between pupil and music teacher. Eliza came into Year 7 having done her Grade 6 exam and so full of promise. It was the pickup of academic pace and pressure during that caused her dyslexia and dyspraxia to start to cause problems for her, and she battled her way through numerous piano, clarinet and sax exams and also in ballet and drama. Barry was always understanding and often came into school early to teach Eliza before the daily routine made her tired and vulnerable. Sadly she was forced to drop some of these activities when it all became unsustainable and she was constantly catching up after spending several hours every day recumbent in the nurse’s office with a dizzy spell.  No doctors could get to the bottom of this until a consultant audiologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital finally recommended physiotherapy to retrain her brain. She finally received her SEN diagnosis almost by chance a couple of years ago but we’ve struggled to persuade the school to put in place the educational psychologist’s access recommendations – they are understandably wary of being accused of gaming the system I suppose – and she only actually received them for the first time for her mock A level exams in February. The long wait has begun to see where she will be studying in the autumn.

And yet the last couple of years have seen her produce her Medea film which was the runner up in a national competition. She’s performed with school and BYMT ensembles at the O2, the Royal Albert Hall and around Europe. She choreographed a stunningly effective, and slightly shocking, rendition of Chicago’s Cell Block Tango for her leaver’s concert. My best girl has not let her setbacks and disappointments rule her and I stand in awe of her tenacity. The has never one a single prize at school, though she’s gained music, dance and drama colours a few times. She finally leaves school this week. It’s emotional, but it’s time. It has been anything but an easy ride for this thoughtful and dedicated young woman and I hope that her best triumphs are yet to come.