What did you want to be when you were young?
A footballer, a stage star, an astronaut! The opportunities were endless, the aspirations boundless – as they should be.
When Luke Howden was in Year 4, he knew exactly what he wanted to be.
Around 15 years later, his dream of becoming a teacher came true and it was with great delight that, going into this new year, he was appointed into his first leadership role as Head of School.
But Luke’s fantastic story doesn’t stop there. Those early dreams of wanting to teach were fostered in the classrooms of Steeple Bumpstead Primary School, near Haverhill, where he was a pupil.
Fast forward to present day and he has now embarked on a leadership role at the very same village school.
Of the importance of teaching, Luke said: “I like the impact that people working in schools can have on children. We can be a really positive change.”
But Luke’s story is about more than that. It is about having a dream and going after your dream. There is a lesson for us all there, but especially for the young pupils at Steeple Bumpstead and beyond.
It has been a whistle-stop start to the new school year which started with us welcoming new schools to the trust at the same time we celebrated our 10th anniversary.
It was a landmark milestone and one we couldn’t have achieved without the hard work and commitment of so many.
But it also allowed us to look ahead and plan what the next 10 years – and beyond – might look like.
Like Luke, we welcomed new leaders and on a number of occasions at the start of the year, we welcomed teams from Ofsted into our family of schools.
These inspections have given our leaders, all staff and students a chance to show what makes their own school the very best it can be – a key theme from the last 10 years and for the years ahead.
We have also seen schools celebrate their commitment to the environment, with the Green Flag award, and their continued commitment to inclusivity with the IQM Award recognising the ongoing commitment by schools to provide the very best education for all children irrespective of differences.
With open evenings, school tours, Year 7 starters and so much more, it has been a busy start to the new school year.