There is joy in effort

Annual awards evening at school tonight.

Nick Gillingham - twice Olympic Medallist and holder of a multitude of records and titles in the field of swimming, was our guest speaker. He gave some clear messages, but one phrase stuck with me, which was about learning that there is joy in effort.

He was charming, engaging and it was a fantastic opportunity for our youngsters to see and hold the medals, have their certificates signed by him and to have photographs taken with him. He made time for every single one of them who wanted to speak to him, he asked them about their aspirations, talked about their favourite sports, congratulated them warmly on their achievements. It was wonderful to see.

I waited patiently until all of the children were finished before I asked our IT techie to take a photo of me (on my phone - I forgot my camera!!) with Nick. I effectively turned into a teenager again and was surprisingly keen to see the medals and to speak with him. I would like to add that he is a significant amount taller than me, he just leaned over so as not to make me look like a midget!

Tonight was a reminder that measuring school performance should not be about what we have to write about ourselves in our self evaluation documents and that it isn't about arbitrary floor targets and statistics. It isn't about groups and subgroups of students based upon social characteristics.

It's about young people. It's about the very many ways in which they achieve success. It's about the commitment they show, the way they engage, their pride in being part of OUR school and their increasing belief that they really have something to offer, because they do.

It's about the commitment of the adults who contribute to the lives of our students. The people who go above and beyond, who believe when others don't, who cajole, are unflinching in their dedication and do it, not because it is a job, but because they believe unquestioningly in the fact that our students CAN do it, even when our students falter and don't believe.

It has been a frantic year and oftentimes very stressful. We have got caught up in the bureaucracy of the paper chase that is so often our arch-nemesis in education.

It is easy, all too easy, in the day to day melee to forget why we do this and who we do it for.

Tonight was a measure of our success. Every single student, member of staff and parent who has contributed along the way. Nothing good comes easily - it's hard to accept when we are all knackered and counting the days, but deep in our hearts, we know it to be true, and we know it is worth it in the end.

Even on my bad days, I count my blessings to do this job and to work with this "peculiar staff" that was described this evening. We are peculiar, but in a very very good way - it's a priviledge to spend my days with you all.

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