I was chatting today to an old friend in Nairobi. We come from different backgrounds and different cultures. We disagree about many things, but we have remained steadfast friends since early adulthood. We started to talk about the advice we would offer our younger selves. We began to make a list. Here are a few…
In just a few short weeks’ time, thousands of teenagers will be traveling to South Korea to attend the World Scout Jamboree. They’ll be flying in groups of around 36 young people, with each group accompanied by four long-suffering and truly wonderful volunteer adult leaders. If you’re one of those teenagers, or one of those…
On the 14th October, I had the opportunity to say a few thank yous as I bowed out as Secretary General of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award… Thank you. Two little words that truly say exactly what I want to say this evening. Thank you to the young people and their leaders around the…
On the 12th October, I delivered this speech to the delegates at The Award’s Forum in Cluj, Romania: Many of you will know the opening lines of Charles Dickens’ novel, A tale of two cities. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… it was the spring of hope, it was…
For a whole host of reasons, I have become increasingly interested in the history of Teddy Bears – not something you’d normally expect of a balding, middle-aged charity chief executive. But, over lockdown, the adventures of Ben the Bear were chronicled on Facebook, as he helped me with shopping, eating and other tasks of daily…
As so many children have started back at school today, I found myself reflecting on the story of one child I taught, many years ago. Let’s call him Christopher. He was in my Y6 class in the late 1980s, back when we called them 4th year juniors. He was attention seeking, usually using poor behaviour…
I was honoured this week to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Social Science from the University of Bolton. As one friend commented – “Dressing up and a show; perfect way to celebrate, John!” It wasn’t quite the normal show of a graduation ceremony that you’d expect to see. Covid rather put paid to that… Instead,…
Held annually on 5 October since 1994, World Teachers’ Day commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. I’m proud to have been a teacher, joining the ranks of those people who put in long hours, preparing lessons that will gently coax the young people in their charge…
Back to school. Three words that are loaded with extra meaning this year. I don’t really recall how I felt about going back to school after the long summer holidays when I was a child. I guess that some years I was excited; sometimes I may have been apprehensive; maybe on one or two occasions…