Studentsgraduationuk studentsuk schools

Nursery Holds Adorable Graduation Ceremony For Four-Year-Olds

Nursery Holds Adorable Graduation Ceremony For Four-Year-Olds
Jess Edwards
|

In July, pictures of university graduates' proud parents flooding Facebook are nothing out of the ordinary. This year, though, there are snaps of four year olds in graduation gear smiling for the camera.

Children at Northfleet Nursery in Kent recently "graduated" and were kitted in mini blue mortarboards and gowns.

Open Image Modal

Nursery schoolkids don mini mortarboards and gowns to graduate

But it's no new phenomenon; Little Ladybirds nursery in Durham has held graduations ceremonies since 2011. Manager Catherine Mason said it was about celebrating pupils' achievements as they head to primary school.

"'When the ceremony happens there aren't many dry eyes among the parents, but the staff get the most upset of all. They're the ones who won't be seeing the children again," Mason told the BBC.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term "graduation" has referred to the awarding of university degrees since the 1600s.

First it was US-style high school proms which caught on in Britain, and now nursery schools are jumping on the American bandwagon and embracing graduation ceremonies for four year olds. Stateside, pre-school graduations are an established practice and industry, with books having been written to reassure nervous children.

American mothers recommend tortillas rolled up to resemble degree certificate scrolls and pencil-shaped cheese stick appetisers as perfect food to serve on they day. One boy's declaration that "I want to be Batman" has attracted more than a million hits on YouTube.

Now the craze is spreading to the UK.

In 2008, John Martin launched Marston Robing, a company which sells graduation garb for nursery students. At the beginning, John sold a few hundred cap and gown sets at £20 pounds a time. He now sells 10,000 sets per year. For him, and similar companies, dressing up pre-school leavers is becoming an entrepreneurial enterprise.

In reality, the craze is more about the adults than the children. John Martin said: "For some poorer families, this is the first taste of a graduation-type ceremony. About 50% of adults don't go to university and never get to attend one, so their kids have little idea of it. We find it's this group which is keenest on the nursery ceremony."

Graduations Around The World
Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, US(01 of16)
Open Image Modal
The students at this liberal arts college in Pennsylvania mark the Commencement by holding candlelit vigil the night before graduation. (credit:Bucknell University/Facebook)
The United States Air Force Academy, Colorado (02 of16)
Open Image Modal
The USAFA famously lays claim to the 'hat toss' tradition adopted by so many other universities. Combined with a spectacular flypast, theirs is still the original and best. (credit:Flickr)
University of Bristol, UK(03 of16)
Open Image Modal
Graduands at Bristol are unusual in that they don't wear mortarboards at all, because once, according to legend, too many got thrown from Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge, and it was deemed a 'hazard'. (credit:Flickr)
Oxford and Cambridge Universities, UK(04 of16)
Open Image Modal
At the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, a fur-lined hood is worn, traditionally across the shoulders (not over the head!). Part of the ceremony is also conducted in Latin, to the general bemusement of most students.
Stanford University, US(05 of16)
Open Image Modal
At Stanford, California, graduating students wear a lurid pink and orange stole instead of the traditional hood. (credit:Flickr)
Kanazawa College of Art, Japan(06 of16)
Open Image Modal
At this Japanese art school, you can wear anything you want, which annually whips media outlets into a frenzy . The annual ceremony has become so famous that TV crews turn up each year to see what the students are wearing (credit:Twitter )
Kanazawa College of Art, Japan(07 of16)
Open Image Modal
...and by anything, they mean anything. (credit:Twitter)
Yale University, US(08 of16)
Open Image Modal
Not their actual graduation robes, but still, they look rather quirky. The graduation at Yale last year was a rather blue event, as students donned protective plastic kagools in the drizzle. (credit:AP)
Smith College, Massachusetts, US(09 of16)
Open Image Modal
At this all women's liberal arts college, the alma mater of Sylvia Plath, Smithies have a unique graduation ceremony called the 'diploma circle'. They pass round their diplomas until each receives their own and leaves the circle. (credit:Smith College facebook)
New York University, US(10 of16)
Open Image Modal
After graduation at NYU, students like to cool off by jumping in New York's Washington Square fountain, still wearing their full regal purple academic dress. (credit:Getty)
Spanish universities(11 of16)
Open Image Modal
Spain's traditional approach towards graduation academic dress includes embellished cuffs, elbow length cape and a circular shape cap. (credit:YouTube/ Flickr dhjerodas)
University of the Philippines(12 of16)
Open Image Modal
Some view students as only having truly graduated if they have marched onstage to accept their diploma during the ceremony.Ceremonies are held at the end of March, and Filipinos take part in graduation every time they complete a level of education.Students wear Sunday best, with a traditional stole worn to indicate honour and distinction.Garlands are essential to graduations, and are usually made from ribbon and shaped into flowers. (credit:UPOU Alumni)
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa(13 of16)
Open Image Modal
The University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) choir (pictured) is present at every graduation ceremony.According to reports, once the academic procession has left the hall, the song 'I Got You' by James Brown is played over the loudspeakers (credit:University of the Witwatersrand)
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan(14 of16)
Open Image Modal
Some female students wear onna hakama while others opt for kimino, with males donning either traditional haori hakama or suits during Japanese graduations, which are usually held in March.Each student walks up onto the stage when his or her name is called, bows once, receives the certificate with both hands, bows once more, and returns to their seat. (credit:Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University)
Sun Yat-sen University, China(15 of16)
Open Image Modal
Graduate students dressed in old time clothing pose for photos for their graduation at Sun Yat-sen University on June 27, 2012 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of China. (credit:PA)
Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakho, Thailand(16 of16)
Open Image Modal
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the university's ceremony.For Thai government universities, the graduates will be handed their diploma by the HRH Crown Prince or Her Royal Highness Princess Pra-Tape or Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn, one Thai blog explains. Only the graduates are allowed to be in the ceremony hall. All the relatives and friends have to wait outside.Shoes have to be black with no decoration, males have to have short hair, with no moustache or beard.Females have to wear stockings and no hair accessories, and all graduates have to wear the graduation gown over their student uniform (credit:RMUTP)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip