Energy and passion

As Wadham students literally raised the roof on 'Our House' recently, I felt it taught all of us in the audience a lesson into the bargain. Earlier in the day, at 7am, I had attended a breakfast training session at Monk's Yard, Horton, that was held by business networking organisation BNI, on the subject of 'presentation skills'. The two key words that I came away from the session with were were 'energy' and 'passion'. As young as the Wadham performers were, after such a tremendous performance, (I won't mention the 'OFSTED' T-shirts), I would beg to suggest that there is nothing that anyone could teach this bunch of movers and shakers about energy and passion! By the end of the evening, I was thoroughly exhausted from just watching them, and my hands hurt from clapping so much. The talent on show was such that it would be unfair to single out individuals; it is after all the collective whole that makes any show a success. I did however come away with something much more powerful and thought provoking. The essence of the story of 'Our House' is essentially the struggle between right and wrong, good and evil; where often taking the wrong decision, but for the right reasons, can have serious repercussions. This is something that most of us struggle with almost daily, and where, if in an official capacity and acting on behalf of others, the choices we make can have a significant impact on their lives. I know this only too well from some of the decisions I have been party to recently, and it is something I am constantly reminded of. The portrayal of these moral issues through a performance like this really helps to sharpen the senses, and firmly I believe it achieves far more, especially for young people, than the hectoring, lecturing, 'nanny state' style of successive governments. This week I found myself at Wadham again. This time to assist The Rotary Club of Ilminster with their practice interviews. This is something we have been doing at the school for some years now, enabling Year 11 students to see what it is like to be interviewed, and to give them pointers on how to sharpen up their CVs, their appearance and their communication skills, if required. Despite their usual initial apprehension and shyness, I found myself once again surprised and delighted at the 'energy' and 'passion' of these students just starting out on their journey to adulthood. For some youngsters life can be especially hard. We've all heard news of bullying, and in our current society there are many challenges to be overcome. What I found here though is that each and every one of them felt they had benefited from some support, be it from friends or family, their tutors, or the school as a whole, which if they are to be believed, excels in pastoral care. They all however had the ability, no matter what the situation, to pick themselves up, start all over again, and 'go for it'! I certainly went home in a pensive state of mind, for which I thank Wadham students, and the staff, of course.