That little bit extra?

12th September 2025

I hope that the return to school or college has gone well? The rhythm and routines will now be well established and with the more autumnal weather we’ll all be feeling that the school/college year is now well and truly underway. For some of us that rhythm and those routines will be welcome. There are many of us who feel that bit more comfortable when we are ‘back at it’ following and within the construct of the school or college year. It’s not an age or longevity thing, it’s just how some of us are wired up. It does help, of course, when one’s had a good summer break and one feels rested and relaxed. It does help when you truly enjoy what you do. It does help when you believe in what we are all trying to achieve. There can be a degree of ‘too much of a good thing’ and we need those polarised experiences. We need to work hard to enjoy, more fully, the weekends and the holidays. Our school/college world is ‘full on’. There are no hiding places. All have been giving themselves fully to the children, young people, friends, each other. In doing all that they add value, make a difference and change lives. It’s because of that commitment, a giving of one’s being – heart and soul, if you like – that you will feel that you have earned your weekend.

The Autumn term brings a renewed vigour, interest in and improved extra-curricular offer. School and college aren’t only about what goes on in the learning and teaching space; be that the classroom, lab, drama studio, sports field; it’s about offering our children and young people a whole host of alternative offers which bring a freshness, difference and additionality to the experience.

I think that it’s well understood now that schools and colleges aren’t just about those examination SATs outcomes – they are important, we won’t ever forget that, they are the passport that we all need. If we are to be engines of social change, we need to understand that a set of examination/SATs results only tell just a part of the story. They in themselves, do not prepare the children and young people for the next stage of their academic journey, nor prepare them for life.

It’s no accident that the private or independent schools and colleges, across our country, pay so much attention to and share widely their achievements in those extra-curricular advantages. Those schools and colleges are commercial concerns and, in their advertisements, you never see/read mention of the numbers of GCSEs achieved or A Level course offered, for example. You do see glossy photos of happy children playing hockey or rugby; you read mentions of the successes the institution may have had in chess tournaments or debating challenges; you are invited to come and look at their facilities, the clubs, the societies. Why? Because there is an acute understanding, in that sector, that the future leaders of our land will not be shaped in a classroom but in and by their wider educational, social and cultural experiences.

We have as many children and young people with the potential to go onto lead, in whatever field they choose, but they will only do so if they take up and commit to the enormous range of extra-curricular activities which are offered and engage in, and with, all that additionality.

Please look at the offer. Please sign up for something extra-curricular – it’s in your interest, to do so – we know that, but do you? Keep on at it – be resilient, even when the going or the weather gets tough.

‘We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.’ Walt Disney