Category: CEO’s Blog

One of my ‘guilty pleasures’ is to listen to a weekly radio show called “Sounds of the 70s”.  I enjoy the nostalgia that allows me to reminisce of popular songs I heard from my childhood (often on my big sister’s cassette recorder), and it is also an opportunity to discover some new music that I can then listen to again.  I’m always keen to learn the story behind some of the songs and the artists who performed them too.

On last week’s show, the presenter played the track “All Right Now” by the band Free.  It was, by far, their biggest hit record and has been used in numerous shows and TV advertisements, and even as a sports team anthem.  It must have earned the band a significant proportion of the royalties that they will continue to enjoy to this day.  In the UK alone it went platinum, shifting over 600 000 units in sales. 

The song was born on late one night in ‘Dunelm House’ – the home to Durham University’s Student Union, where the band were appearing.  The event was described later as a “bad gig”, and in 1970s rock terms, that could be a polite euphemism for open hostility.  However, in this case what dismayed the band, according to lead singer Paul Rodgers was that they finished (their) show and walked off the stage to the sound of (their) own footsteps.” In the dressing room they came up with a tune that would raise their spirits after the dismal evening, and a track that would be a suitably rousing closer to future concerts.  “All Right Now” was that song, written in its essence in “no more than ten minutes”.

I am always in admiration of those who are able to take a moment or period of adversity and find a way through.  I’ve quoted the famed American basketball coach John Wooden in previous blogs, but his words on this theme are typically concise yet profound:

“Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.”

The children and young people in our schools show tremendous resilience and tenacity through challenges they face and can be incredibly resourceful in how they turn such adversity into opportunity.  At the Trust’s “Exceptional Achievement Awards” this week, we heard testimony from school staff, parents and community partners praising a number of amazing individuals.  One such person, through having to undergo spinal surgery, had to forego participation in the sports that she loved.  She continued her engagement through training and officiating as an umpire – a role in which she has excelled.  There were many other stories of such endeavour and all present were rightly proud to be associated with such great people.

We know that as we move into the summer break that very soon GCSE, BTEC and A Level results will be upon us.  Many of our young people will be delighted and have a ‘green light’ for the next steps of their journey in learning and in life.  However, some will inevitably face disappointment and have to reconsider their options.  It can be so difficult, in the face of hard work and expectation, to be faced with having to chart a new course and begin to navigate it.  This is where the support from, and experience of, family, friends, and teachers become so valuable. 

As Churchill stated during the Second World War:

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” and so it is with us today.

Perhaps there are so many quotations to draw upon to support this theme because it is such an important part of our humanity.  We keep going, with fortitude and optimism.  Our schools are full of pupils and staff whose energy is infectious even as the academic year and all its rigours draws to a close. 

A final quotation (and one of my favourites) is from JRR Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings’.  When Frodo confesses his weariness at the times that are befalling Middle Earth, Gandalf consoles and challenges in equal measure:

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Thanks for reading, and have a great summer.

Mike.

Longstanding readers of my blog will remember back in October 2021 I wrote about my experiences running The London Marathon.  I was very fortunate to get a space through running for a charity (“The Rainy Day Trust” Home – Rainy Day Trust ) and, despite my best efforts in subsequent ballots, I have not been able to secure a place since.  The latest rejection coming only this week:

However, last month – for the first time since London – I did enter and complete a marathon.  This time it was in Edinburgh, my university city, and a place I don’t re-visit anywhere near enough.  Despite the torrential rain and driving winds as we ran along the Firth of Forth not having been factored into “warm weather training” for an event in late May, it was a great experience.  Soaked and exhausted at the finish line I, together with all finishers, was presented with a small box containing a few goodies and my medal.  The side of the box read as follows:

It was a quotation that I hadn’t seen before, and from an individual I hadn’t heard of. As I rode on the bus back from the race’s end at Musselburgh to the city centre nursing my blisters and trying to force down some food, it wasn’t the time to over-think its meaning.  Fred DeVito is a fitness trainer, and this quotation is his mantra he imparts upon those with whom he works.  Whilst not a novel concept (it is, in essence, Stoic in origin) it is a sentiment I wholeheartedly subscribe to.  In our schools and beyond, our children learn and grow through facing and overcoming challenge.  After all, one of our core values as a Trust is tenacity and resilience.

On Friday 27^th June, I was privileged to have the opportunity to speak at our second Pupil Leadership Conference, hosted at Fradley Park Primary and Nursery School for children of all ages across our schools.  I took the opportunity to challenge them to challenge themselves – before they can really look to lead and challenge others with integrity.  I have every confidence that they will.  They are amazing and, as their bespoke logo signals, they are stronger together.

The programme for the day required them to work together in workshops to build confidence and help them develop as public speakers, share their experiences of fundraising for charity and a team building activity.  Through such challenge, they will change – and for the better. 

Thanks for reading.

Mike.