Five decades of students, families and staff have shaped Morna into the school it is today. To mark the occasion, we brought together our past and present community to celebrate Morna’s history, the people who have been part of it and the generations still to come.
Celebrating 50 Years
On 23rd June 2023, the Morna campus was transformed for a very special 50th Anniversary celebration.
Students, parents, staff, former students and friends of Morna came together for an evening that felt as much like a festival as an anniversary celebration.
Throughout the campus there was something happening. An exhibition showcased artwork, photography and sculpture created by our students, while our youngest children performed songs and acts on a stage nestled amongst the trees. Entertainment and bouncy castles added to the festival atmosphere.
On the main stage, our Secondary students entertained the crowd with drama sketches and musical performances, with Sam and John Hocking providing musical interludes and helping to coordinate the flow between acts alongside the technical team.
Adding some humour was a James Bond-themed opening, featuring Adrian Massan as our very own 007, Julie Harwood as Miss Moneypenny, together with Linda Hazell and Guada, our school nurse, as part of the cast.
It was particularly special to welcome back former students from different parts of the world. Two of the children of Morna’s original founder, Mary Blackstad, also joined us and spoke about the school’s beginnings and its journey over the previous five decades.
The dress code reflected Morna’s colours of white, navy blue and red, creating a wonderful backdrop across the campus.
Among our distinguished guests were Sarah Cowley from the British Embassy in Madrid and Carmen Ferrer Torres, Mayor of Santa Eulària, who joined the Morna community to mark this important milestone.
Our own catering team prepared food for the hundreds of guests gathered across the campus, before one of the most memorable moments of the evening: James Blunt joining our school choir on stage to perform “You’re Beautiful”.
Later, DJ Sasha took over, filling the dance floor and bringing the celebrations to a fitting close.
It was an unforgettable evening, made possible by the enormous effort of Morna staff and everyone who worked behind the scenes — and, above all, a celebration of the thousands of students, families and staff who have been part of Morna’s story since 1973.
The Making of MIC 50
We also wanted to create something that would permanently capture our 50th year — and the idea for MIC 50 was born.
The photograph was made for the back cover of that year's special edition of the Morna Yearbook, which for once carried no advertising, so that it could show something special about the school instead.
The plan sounded simple: bring the whole school together and, viewed from the air, arrange our students and staff to form the letters MIC and the number 50.
Making it happen was rather less simple.
Julie Harwood and Paul Newton began by measuring the available space, calculating how many students would be needed per square metre and dividing year groups and uniform colours between the different letters and numbers.
Then came the challenge of creating the outlines. Juan Henares came up with the idea of using flexible plumbing pipes that could be shaped into the enormous letters and numbers on the ground.
There was also a fitting connection to Morna’s past. Former student Manuel Helbling had established a business specialising in drone photography and filming, so we contacted him to see whether our idea could work.
Manuel returned to the school several times to take test photographs from above, allowing us to adjust and perfect the design. Teachers then took their classes onto the sports pitches to practise finding their positions, while shapes, timings and even the changing Ibiza shadows were taken into account.
Finally, on 28th March 2023, the whole school came together.
Students and staff assembled on the sports pitches, everyone found their allocated position and, after a few final adjustments, Manuel’s drone rose above the campus.
From the ground, it was difficult to appreciate quite what we had created.
From the air, it all came together:
MIC 50.
Hundreds of students and staff forming one image to mark 50 years of Morna.
It took a huge amount of planning, organisation and teamwork, but the result captured something much bigger than an anniversary photograph. It captured the Morna community itself.
Watch the Making of MIC 50
From an idea on paper, through the planning and rehearsals, to the moment the drone captured the finished image, our video tells the story behind the making of MIC 50.
One school. One community. 50 years of Morna.
