The end but also the beginning.......

In July I completed 40 years working in secondary schools.  I began my career in 1974 as a PE teacher in a large secondary school, since then I have worked in three schools as Head of PE, Head of Humanities, Deputy Principal and Principal of both a community college and an Academy. During the last 40 years I have had the pleasure to meet and work with some outstanding professionals and a huge number of young people who have been both inspiring and enlightening in their attitudes and desire to want to succeed. I would like to think I have provided advice, support, knowledge and an understanding of not only the subjects I taught but also about life itself.  Outside of my vocation I have always been involved in sport, playing, coaching and managing football, running, walking and more recently cycling.  So after 40 years teaching and at 63 years of age what happens next?  Do I slip into retirement, hang up my boots and accept the onset of dementia? Not a chance! The bills and taxes are paid. Life is a marathon and the time and physical investment I have put in to maintaining my level of fitness over the last 40 or so years now needs to be well spent. My enthusiasm for challenge, my ambition, and determination to continue to get the most out of life is my driving force and aspiration. The intentions are to embrace the time I now have and these are just a sample of my aspirations:

·      Continue to work on a consultancy basis supporting the development of new educational initiatives.

·      Work with the Youth Sports Trust on developing the impact of sport on student attainment.

·      Maintain my sport schedule running races; cycling sportives; duathlons (the national age rankings beckons!).

·      Work my way through the bucket list I have accumulated of places to visit.

·      Begin the challenges I have longed to do including; Walking the Pennine Way; Trekking to Mera Peak; Climbing some Munros; cycling the coast to coast.

If this in inspires others young or old then that is a bonus, I know from years working with people of all ages that that initial motivation and drive comes from an inspirational role model. Life is tough, lifestyles are changing, the world gets smaller and technology and social media are taking over. We need to seek out our individuality, our inner self and find the mojo that makes us all unique.

I feel privileged and I suppose slightly lucky to be in a physical condition to be able to keep challenging and pushing myself. The adrenalin rush and need to exercise and take part in competitions has never left me I have come to the conclusion this love of sport, life and adventure will be with me forever.

So as the saying goes watch this space ! Whether its micro adventures, trips overseas or beating that Saturday Park Run PB let the new life begin.

micro adventure - summer solstice in norfolk

Inspired  by the concept of micro adventures we decided that we would throw away all that careful planning and booking ahead of camp sites and B&Bs and toss caution to the wind by driving from our home in Peterborough to the rolling coastline of north Norfolk.  Loaded with our bikes minimal clothing, sleeping bags and a spirit of adventure we arrived in Hunstanton at 3pm on the 21st June. Bikes ready we cycled off fully loaded and with our mini map on the 25 mile ride to Wells Next the Sea via Burnham on Market - the Norfolk 'Sloan Square'.    After a hearty meal of 'fish n chips' and a pint we ventured to the coast to find a suitable place to wild camp. The dunes of Holkham Bay provided our sleeping bags with a home for the night as we settled back to watch the sunset. The next morning saw a cloudy but warm and still solstice sunrise and the walk to the beach gave our legs the wake up they needed ready for the 14 mile cycle back to Hunstanton. A cafe stop for bacon butties and hot tea sustained us until we reached the cliff tops of sunny Hunny - which by now it was - and the delicious smell of sweet doughnuts from the sea front vendor, just reward for our amazing first micro adventure and memories never to be forgotten.

The times they are a changing …..(apologies to Dylan)

A few weeks ago I tentatively donned my football gear to take part in a staff v students football upon which a younger member of staff remarked ‘You play like a 1960s footballer in black and white!’ I knew just what they meant, watch the old newsreels of football matches past and you will see what I mean, even England’s world cup final with West Germany demonstrates the vast difference between football then and now.

Today’s players are athletes of the highest caliber, their body shape reflects strength and power training not to mention they require speed, agility and strong endurance. Their diet is well planned with alcohol during the season a no go. The game is quicker and technology has provided a refined ball of the highest quality.

Modern game changes, have in the main, been led by our European neighbours. Italy have long been the tacticiansand introduced ‘catenaccio’  in the 1960s, the 80s saw the ‘total football’ of the Dutch and today the Spanish short passing game has placed them above Brazil in the world rankings. At the same time France have developed their football development centre at Clairefontaine  whistthe German coaching system remains strict and well organized.

Here in the UK we have been slow to respond. The FA Coaching regime as attempted, on many occasions, to change the coaching and approaches to the game in this country from grass roots through to professional level. The FA School of Excellence at Lilleshall as been followed by the National Football Centre at Burton but as yet we do not know the impact this may be having. Football clubs in the football league are still coming to grips with sports science, diet, training methods, rehabilitation and technical skills which other European countries have long been practicing. It was only the start of the Premier League in this country and the vast amount of money it generated that opened the way forward for English clubs with the influx of foreign players and eventually foreign managers. This in itselfhas brought added problems and knock on effects. Where are the English players coming through?  What does this mean for the national side ? And what about the opportunities for English coaches to develop and manage at the highest level?  

More recently there has been a slight positive move by some clubs to appoint British coaches ( the Premier League has over half of its managers from other countries). The pressures on the ‘modern game’ clubs are enormous and failure results in a massive loss in revenue. As a result the top clubs are losing the community aspect of their role and serve international investors and multimillionaires. In turn this leads to short lived managers:we are seeing the last of a breed of managers who are given time to develop the club from its community grassroots to the first team.  

Instant success has become essential with 3 to 5 year contracts being the norm. The game as truly changed. It was recently announced that the amount of funding for football at the grass roots had been reduced due to lack of development and participation, a far cry from streets full of children playing football, using dustbins as goalposts and playing until the sun went down.

This raises many questions about the impact of other sports on our youth or the way technology has influenced our life, placing going out for a game of football way down on our children’s list of things to do. I am soon to embark on some work with the Youth Sports Trust looking at how sport can influence a young persons achievement, I wonder how football will feature or has it lost the influence it once had on motivating young people? Things have a habit of going full circle and if Liverpool win the league who knows some of those amazing football feel good factors I experienced in the 70s and 80s may return. It is an era where the game has changed but also one where it is imperative to retain some of our grass root values of the past in order to be successful.

What I know about …the importance of reading books!

These days we hear a lot about our young people being constantly slumped in front of TV screens and PlayStations, and that this departure from literature is a downward trend. But personally, I don’t believe that young people have abandoned reading as much as people think.

From an early age my own children loved books, and as parents we encouraged them to develop their love of reading by taking them to the library and buying them books. Now, as a Principal of an academy, which includes an Early Years Centre, my drive to encourage young people to read is even greater. So what is it that makes reading books so important? These are just some of the reasons why we should encourage children of all ages to read:

·      Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body

·      Self-improvement! Books can change your thinking, help you overcome the past, change situations and make better decisions

·      The ability to read and understand can open any door you choose to go through

·      Reading is fun! Early reading for toddlers helps them view books as an indulgence, not a chore. Kids who are exposed to reading are much more likely to choose books over video games, television, and other forms of entertainment as they grow older

·      Reading boosts imagination and creativity. Books are beyond imagination; it’s like a huge spider web where elements link to more and more ideas

The Department of Education clearly has renewed its focus on reading. Through learning to read fluently and confidently, pupils ‘have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, spiritually and socially.’ The draft of the new English Programme of Study puts a strong emphasis on reading, stating that ‘Pupils should be taught to … understand extended prose, both fiction and non-fiction, and be encouraged to read for pleasure. Schools should do everything to promote wider reading.  They should provide library facilities and set ambitious expectations for reading at home.’

Ofsted also has a focus on reading in schools. Its inspectors would want to be assured that leaders and managers have clear, simple, consistent procedures and recording systems to track pupils’ progress in reading.  For example, in a primary school, they will ask the question: ‘Do leaders and managers know who the weakest readers in each year group are, and what is being done to support them?’ Inspectors will also want to know how well pupils are using their reading skills in other subjects.

‘Every child a reader’ is the target and all of us should encourage people of all ages to relax and spend time reading a good book.  Remember a book is a great gift you can give to anyone, and once the imagination is sparked, you will be giving them a gift for life.