Why I Love September

The current structure of the school year dates from the late nineteenth century, the introduction of compulsory education and the raising of the school leaving age. In the more agrarian economy of that time, children were involved in harvesting crops during the summer months and so the school year began in September.

Whilst such an arrangement may now be an anachronism, it is nevertheless a familiar cycle that I have enjoyed for most of my life as a pupil, an undergraduate and as a teacher. Before teaching, I spent a few years working in finance. The tax year, I found, didn’t quite have the same rhythms and appeal. September 2018 will mark my 26th start to a new school year as a teacher and seventh as a Head.

During term time, schools are relentlessly busy and energetic places. The cycle of the academic year affords healthy opportunities for renewal for boys, staff and schools. Fresh starts can be particularly useful for some pupils. Teenage boys spring to mind.

Whilst the long school summer holidays – derided by some – afford teachers and pupils a valuable opportunity to recover, relax and refresh, they also provide the opportunity for reflection, review and reevaluation.

At Newcastle School for Boys we have a strong, collective vision of our continued growth and development. Yet it’s always worthwhile to pause and reflect on progress and successes, to reassess priorities and next steps, to refine and improve processes.

Having undertaken these exercises, I am always raring to go come September – if not a little before. There is even a small element of the long summer holidays that I find a little frustrating as a period of time when it’s not so easy to move things on.

I enjoy the summer holidays and the space they provide to think and to plan. I enjoy spending time with my family and going places. But I’m always just as pleased to be back at a school that is also going places.