It’s a year since our PTA AGM 2024, and we’ve just held our update for 2025. Over the past 12 months, during one of the more unstable periods of world history I’ve experienced, I’ve significantly changed my focus as a school leader, leaving the minutiae of running the secondary section of my school to another (thanks Steve) to focussing on the big picture work of being a school principal facing the many challenges now reaching the shores of Claires Court Schools Ltd. I’ll publish the AGM update after the event, because there’s an  incredible new facility opening as part of the celebrations tomorrow.

The electorate in the UK voted in a Labour government intent on raising funds to benefit the state education system by adding VAT to tuition fees from January, removing business rates relief from schools that are charitably constituted from April and clobbering employers with the lowering of National Insurance, raising its rate and increasing minimum pay rates. If that’s not enough, a further Act is being considered by Parliament which will change further the face of state education, introducing yet more change, churn and central control. In 2 weeks time, parliament will almost certainly be asked for approval to change more statutes to claw back money from the public spend to increase the public purse as the country gears up to face its international responsibilities in the light of decisions made by the new Republican President in the US.

Confucius (551–479 BCE) as a scholar and teacher and lived in a chaotic and violent time in China. He wished to see peace and harmony restored and a return to order. Despite the passing of time and the umpteen centuries, humanity has chosen hate, conflict and personal gain over love, peace and harmony. In 2025, we see even our perception of what is true being twisted on Live TV in the White House, an object lesson reminder of what went wrong in the 1930s when the League of Nations ignored the threat of the rise of Fascism in Europe. We do well now to remember what Confucius introduced all those centuries ago, that being the value of Teachers and the vocation we have when called to the classroom. 

I’ve 2 brothers, former pupils in their twenties whose time in schools assisted them in forming their choices for University and their career path beyond. After Uni, James went to Sandhurst to become a soldier, and last year James’ troop were tasked to provide a demonstration to the King of their bridging capability as part of His Majesties State visit to Germany, seen here talking to his Majesty. James is heavily involved with 23 Amphibious Engineering Squadron, Royal Engineers as a Lieutenant in charge of his Troop of 30-plus Men and Women permanently based in Germany, and was subsequently deployed to Poland as part of “Dragon24” and “Steadfast Defender” the biggest NATO exercise in 30 years. 

His brother Oliver followed on after A levels 2 years later, and chose a completely different route, inspired by biology and geography field trips here at school, he studied Marine Biology at Plymouth University and from there has made a successful career as a wild-life photographer – a more recent film being with Disney and National Geographic…. in ‘A Real Bugs Life’!

The Director had him appear in a very cold pond in the film as Disney/National Geographic actually wanted a Marine Biologist in the water, which saw him individually named in the credits!

Here’s a sample of the photographer’s skill:

More recently, Ollie has been working with Orcas and pilot whales who have similar social structures, forming strong, long-term bonds between mother and offspring, and he’s hoping to film them care-giving between the species, a real possibility.

Every day in school I run with my brother Hugh, I remain acutely aware just how complementary our skills are. Where I find the current direction of education so depressing is that the focus seems to be on levelling down not up, making more similar rather than valuing individuality and those best schools that do this, in the state or independent sector simply aren’t being visited by the current Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson MP, because we model a completely different way by which excellence can be achieved by valuing diversity not homogeneity. 

The story of brothers Wilding and Moore spans 50 years of course. They are but 2 of hundreds of tales I see every day in school, which cause my ‘hope arising’, my cheerleaders being the children in whom bright new lights are dawning. I’m with so many other national headteachers in standing for inclusion and wisdom in all we do. We are teachers; Confucius is known as the first teacher in China who wanted to make education broadly available and who was instrumental in establishing the art of teaching as a vocation. Please stand with us, work with us and listen. Teachers know stuff, we don’t need yet more Acts of Parliament, just more Acts of Purpose – whether that be in being in an army brigade or film crew – the world is both a safer and exciting place because of the skills they’ve chosen and put to such good use.

Confucius would indeed say “Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart!”