Summertime…?

26th June 2026

A mixed bag this week.

It’s been hot! That’s stating the bleeding obvious – I know. But I just wanted to recognise that continuing to open and manage school and college when the temperature is rising is a real challenge and really has been something of an achievement this week. I know there will be people who suggest that we should close in these conditions. And some schools and colleges may have done so in the area. However, just so you know my position, if we talk about every single day, every single lesson being important we should shut very, very rarely. And, what happens when we get the next hot day and we don’t feel we need to shut, what will parents say? Will children and young people choose to stay away because they think that license has been given. Schools and colleges are challenging places at the best of times. I know that in the particularly warm weather this becomes intensified and it’s not been easy this week. but, yet again, we’ve all risen to the challenge. We’ve kept the temperature down despite the mercury rising. For that, I thank you all.

And if that wasn’t enough, we tip our caps to our friends at Sitwell Junior School. Monday morning, before the heat hit, the Ofsted call came in. A sizable inspection team then spent the whole of Tuesday and Wednesday in the school looking at what makes Sitwell Junior School such a brilliant place for children and an amazing place to work. It is truly a beacon in our wider community. Having seen the inspectors off the premises we will no doubt, over the coming weeks, reflect upon the Ofsted inspection process and what will undoubtedly be a very, very strong narrative from the inspection team. To all my friends at Sitwell Junior School, on behalf of the wider trust and our community I say: congratulations, well done and thank you.

And wow! The World Cup. Into the semi-final with one game to play. Confused? Well, you shouldn’t be. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the women’s T20 cricket World Cup is taking place right now in England. And the host nation has made it to the semi-final with one game to spare. They’ve been on fire, despite the loss of their inspirational captain, Nat Sciver-Brunut. I know some of you were off to see the game at Headingley on Saturday evening – I hope you enjoyed the game and the spectacle.

The World Cup (don’t say soccer) over the other side of the pond, may not be bringing as much excitement. Hopefully by the wee small hours of Sunday morning England will have hit their boot straps and will be back on track for a decent tournament and possibly progression to the semi-final (or beyond?). And I really do hope that Scotland will progress too. I’m not one for that dislike of or disregard for our neighbours. We’re all in this together. I hope the Tartan Army stays stateside and continues to enjoy the party.

No doubt, you’ll be taking some time this weekend just to cool down a little. The temperatures are likely to drop in the coming days. Take the opportunity to enjoy the more temperate weather conditions. It looks like the changing climatic conditions are creating more regular extremes in our weather. We, as a trust, have been discussing over a period of time our approach to sustainability and a working group of  staff have been working on getting us into such a place as to ensure that this trust makes a contribution to the debate and necessary mitigations.

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

And I know this isn’t for everyone but…

‘Let a man walk ten miles steadily on a hot summer’s day along a dusty English road, and he will soon discover why beer was invented.’ G. K. Chesterton