Heart-shaped vapour trail above Cambridge marks graduation of St Catharine’s College students
This was the sight above Cambridge city centre today as an aircraft created a heart-shaped vapour trail to mark the graduation of students at St Catharine’s College.
As the Cambridge Independent has reported, the University of Cambridge college specially commissioned the single aircraft from Mark Jefferies and the Global Stars flying team based at the airfield in Little Gransden.
The display came on the first in a series of days in which students would usually have been enjoying graduation ceremonies, which cannot take place this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Professor Sir Mark Welland, master of St Catharine’s, said: “On behalf of the entire St Catharine’s community, I am delighted to offer my heartfelt congratulations to our graduating students.
“Our pride in the successes achieved by our students, in quite exceptional circumstances this year, is today writ large in the sky above Cambridge.”
A video message was also created.
In it, Prof Welland said: “There are numerous staff, fellows and friends from other year groups who are sorely disappointed not to be able to come together to celebrate and share in this important milestone.
“So I speak for them all when I say how enormously proud we are of everything you’ve achieved during your time at Catz and, in particular, how you have triumphed in the face of quite exceptional adversity over the last few months...This video message and other activities have been planned by college to demonstrate how much your achievements mean to us.”
Students who had expected to attend ceremonies this year will still get their degrees and will be able to come back to celebrate together at a later date when restrictions are lifted.
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Why there will be a heart-shaped air display above Cambridge today
