Summer Sun

5th June 2023

All half term breaks, when they come, are well deserved and much appreciated. Whatever time you’ve got in the coming week, you’ll certainly have at least a decent weekend and a bank holiday.

 

The Whit break is always more challenging, to some degree, than the other breaks we have.

 

Why…?

 

We are all in the full throes of the exam season, and many of our children and young people will be continuing to work hard in preparing themselves for the upcoming exams, immediately after the break, and through until the end of June. In addition to that we, within the schools and college, will be setting our minds to the next academic cycle, knowing that it’s just around the corner. For those who don’t work in schools or colleges, it’s hard for you to understand and appreciate how much the work just never stops. When you get to the end of the road, with a particular year group, we are already thinking about moving on with the next. I sometimes liken working in education to being a professional football manager. When the season closes (as they are, this coming weekend) the supporters celebrate or not (whatever the case may be) yet the management team, behind-the-scenes, are already planning for the upcoming season.

 

And on that, some of you will have ‘skin in the game’ with the play-offs this weekend: be that Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday or even Carlisle! If you do, I hope that you can enjoy some elements of the day.

 

When you get back in early June we have a busy period to look forward to. Much of which will be good and very positive. However, as always, there will be our challenges, which we will face head on. We do not shirk our responsibilities and we understand our accountability.

 

We have all earned whatever break we get and at least this year we can look forward to some decent bank holiday weekend weather. I doubt whether we’ll have the temperature highs of last year but a little bit of sun really does warm cockles somewhat.

 

‘Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language’. Henry James

‘Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it’. Russell Baker

We all know what is on the horizon. Can I wish you all a really decent break, whatever you’re up to. I look forward to seeing you all fresh faced, after some summer sun, in the early days of June.