More than 200 new Fellows were formally welcomed to the College at this year’s Admissions Ceremony in London last week.
In front of an audience of their families and friends and College Council members, the new Fellows were congratulated by College President Mohamed Elalfy, who told them: “You are joining this profession at a genuinely exciting time.
“The range of career paths open to you now is wider than it has ever been: expanding subspecialties, research opportunities, global ophthalmology, teaching and leadership within the College itself. Whatever direction interests you, there is a route into it.”
“You are not simply gaining a qualification. You are inheriting a place in a much wider story – one written by people you will mostly never meet, in countries many of you have never visited, all working toward the same quiet, stubborn purpose: giving people the best quality of eye health. What you do with that inheritance, and what you choose to add to it, is now up to you.”
The annual Admissions Ceremony, held this year at Friends House in central London, honours those who passed the prestigious FRCOphth exam, as well as people who achieved the Certificate in Laser and Refractive Surgery (CertLRS) and the 2025 examination medal winners.
The ceremony also included the presentation of Honorary Fellowships to Professor Peter Scanlon and Professor Sobha Sivaprasad. They join a prestigious group of people recognised for their notable contributions to ophthalmology.
After thanking audience members for “for the support that got these candidates here”, Mohamed Elalfy concluded by saying, “Congratulations, again, to all of you today. The College is proud of what you have achieved, and it is truly your moment now to celebrate.”
Professor David Verity, consultant ophthalmic surgeon specialising in oculoplastic surgery, national and international teacher and surgical trainer, gave the closing address.