Oakridge YearBook 2026

We are delighted to share with you something very special — the Oakridge Centre of Excellence Form Four Class of 2026 Yearbook.

At first, we thought of it simply as a way of recording this graduating class: their photographs, their memories and their time at Oakridge. But as the students began writing their own stories, it became something much more.

Page after page, we found ourselves reading the story of New Hope & Oakridge through the voices of the young people themselves.

Some came to New Hope when they were very young. Others joined much later, sometimes after difficult circumstances had interrupted their education or narrowed their opportunities. Yet again and again they describe finding not simply a school, but a place of belonging, encouragement and possibility.

One student writes that New Hope became “more than just a place of support to me; it became a family that gave me hope.” Another remembers arriving afraid that life would be miserable, only to realise later that he had “come to the right place.” For another, New Hope became simply “my home and always the best home.”

Their stories are wonderfully different.

There is the young woman who once thought her dream of becoming a nurse had faded because her parents could not afford her education. There are students dreaming of becoming doctors, nurses, psychologists and teachers. There are prefects, school captains, student leaders and young people who speak proudly of discovering confidence, responsibility and courage. Some write about academic achievement; others about faith, friendship, mentorship or learning how to live with and care for others.

What touched us most was their gratitude.

Almost every story turns, in one way or another, toward the people who made these opportunities possible. They thank Dad & Mum, their teachers, the New Hope and Oakridge teams, donors, sponsors, mentors and friends — many of whom they may never have met personally.

And that is why we wanted to share this yearbook with you.

When you support New Hope, it can sometimes be difficult to see what happens to that kindness many years later. A child receives a school place. School fees are paid. A uniform is provided. A teacher is employed. A home remains open. A mentor gives time and encouragement.

The immediate act may seem small.

But years later, that same child is standing on the threshold of adulthood saying, “I want to become a doctor,” “I want to become a nurse,” “I want to teach others,” or simply, “I want to make you proud.”

That is the story contained in these pages.

The yearbook also captures something that examination results alone never can: the friendships, laughter, growing confidence, leadership, faith and sense of family that have shaped these young people. One student beautifully writes that the love she experienced taught her that “one word frees us of all the weight and pain of life. That word is love.

These young people are now preparing to leave Form Four and step into a much larger world. Their stories are still being written. We do not yet know where each road will lead, but we know that they leave with dreams, with an education, and with people behind them who believed that their circumstances should never determine the limits of their future.

You are among those people.

So as you look through the yearbook, please do not see only photographs of another graduating class.

See the years of patience behind them.

See second chances.

See children who found family.

See young people discovering who they can become.

And perhaps most importantly, see the very real difference that your generosity, friendship and belief in New Hope have made.

On behalf of the Form Four Class of 2026, Oakridge Centre of Excellence and the whole New Hope family, thank you for walking this journey with us.

We hope you enjoy meeting our young people through their own words, their memories and their dreams.

With our love and deepest gratitude,

The New Hope & Oakridge Family

P.S. Keep this yearbook. We hope that, many years from now, we will be able to look back at these same pages and say, “Look what became of them.”