Watching the barometer steadily going down over the previous few days and torrential rain the night before, on what was St Swithin’s Day, did not dampen the anticipation for our eagerly awaited annual event: our new graduates’ celebratory lunch and prizegiving, which followed their degree ceremony in the Wills Building on Friday 16 July.

The great British weather is really not an ally to smart outfits, perfectly coiffured hair and strappy sandals so we solved the dilemma of possible further rain by having the lunch in a marquee in the courtyard space outside the student common room then prizegiving itself in one of the lecture theatres in the School of Medical Sciences on St Michael’s Hill.

The event also gave our students the opportunity to show their parents, families and friends around the buildings which had been their home for the last five years and to say some heartfelt ‘we’ll miss yous’ and ‘thank-yous’ to the members of staff who had not only been their tutors but also their mentors and allies over their time with us. In return there were many ‘congratulations’ and ‘good luck for the futures’ to be heard.

Prizegiving itself was, as always, a very enjoyable and exciting time for the graduates who were able to relax and watch Dr Gray’s extremely comical presentation after their more formal degree presentation in the morning.

During the course of the afternoon some exceptional students received some outstanding prizes and it’s fair to say that nothing could rain on our parade that day.