Welcome back to the summer term, and today, sunshine and blue skies.  I am not sure that the first afternoon of term on Tuesday qualified as summer, as sports got under way in freezing conditions, but hopefully we can look forward to some better conditions in the coming weeks.

The summer can be the best time at school, but also brings the challenge of public exams.  Given that all those facing up to these exams this year have endured significant disruption in their education, and particularly in their experience of exams, over recent years, that adds an additional layer of challenge.  The current Upper 6th did not sit formal exams for their GCSEs, for example, and were the last cohort to have calculated grades back in the summer of 2021.  Last year, the grading of exams was more generous, and students were given some direction in terms of the topics that they needed to revise.  

This year, those supports are not there, as the decision has been made to revert to the 2019 standards.  This is something that is frustrating, but in the language of the sports coaches we can only control the controllables, and this is not something that we can do anything about.  All we can do is to prepare thoroughly and give ourselves the best possible chance of success.  This is a collective effort for everyone within the community, whether that is students, teachers or parents.  Even those without exams this summer can help by ensuring that they do not disrupt those who are preparing for their exams.  Each person can help their friends, by encouraging them positively.  

I recently came across a clip from an interview given by Sir Michael Caine on the Michael Parkinson show.  Caine, now 90, has appeared in an incredible range of films.  You can probably date most people by whether they think of Caine as the star of The Italian Job, the Muppets' Christmas Carol or the Dark Knight films (or many others in between).  In the interview, Caine reveals the key philosophy that has steered him to success throughout his life.

That philosophy is to 'Use the Difficulty'.  Recent years have really tested our resilience, and as Caine says, in an ideal world, we avoid the difficulty in the first place.  But this is not an ideal world, and things often go against us, so how do we use that difficulty to propel us forward?  By recognising the challenge, we are more able to formulate the plan that will see us through it, and the outcome might be even better than had the difficulty not been there in the first place.  Great inventions and innovations are not the result of luck, but of repeated failure.  Success in life rarely occurs without significant challenge along the way, but the response to that challenge defines the future, not the challenge itself. 

Of course, we don’t choose all of our problems.  But we do choose how we respond to them. If we focus on the unfairness, permanence, or number of problems, we might reasonably crumble.  If we focus on how we can leverage this difficulty, then we might have a fighting chance of finding the positive outcome.  So, to use the words of Sir Michael Caine, when faced with challenge, use that difficulty and see whether you can turn a problem into a possibility and a hurdle into success.

Chris Townsend,
Head, Felsted School

PS This Sunday is the London Marathon, and I suspect that I will think quite a bit about 'using the difficulty' during those 26 miles on Sunday.  I am so grateful to everyone who has supported my fundraising for The Lord's Taverners already, and if anyone does want to add anything towards that, please do click on the link below.

Marathon Fundraising for Lord's Taverners