Last updated 13:33, Thursday, 25 September 2008

By Chris Brooksbank, Headteacher of Flookburgh CE Primary School

WEREN’T the Olympics a fantastic event? The spectacular ceremonies and incredible competitions were truly inspiring. 

I certainly hope they help our children to rise to the challenge and set their sights as high as possible. The sheer effort and preparation of the athletes merit our respect and admiration.Triple, double and even single medallists gain most of the praise, but every single athlete must have worked so hard to even gain a place in the competitions.

Many of us hope that the example given by the Olympics will inspire, but what else can we learn?

The London Olympics are a great chance for us to set ourselves the organisational challenge of putting on a fantastic show to the rest of the world. They will be a great opportunity for us to plan and prepare, both as individual athletes and for one of the biggest events on the planet. Anyone who has tried to organise a party knows how hard it can be, especially anyone involved in trying to make sure five-year-olds look after all their things in school without loosing coat, sock or reading book.

We hear London 2012 won’t be spending as much as Beijing, but that perhaps isn’t surprising in the current credit crunch. So we will have to be creative, and imaginative.

To those who manage school budgets this doesn’t sound unfamiliar, with the UK investing less of our GDP, (or national wealth), than almost all other developed countries.

So can the Olympics help us to be creative, imaginative, careful and thoughtful – or will it be a warning that to really succeed we need to invest in our children and the future? Just as important is the bravery needed to have a go, to enter the arena or competition.

It is great to have some Cumbrian competitors in Beijing in the Paralympics. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to show how well we respect some of the most disadvantaged of our society, although I found it a little disconcerting to watch some of the regular commentary team struggle to interview these athletes.

The Olympics also show us that we should respect and support all sections of our society, and can push ourselves into unfamiliar and challenging experiences – not only athletes and commentators, but everyone.

The success of Team GB has given a great lift to the national mood, but I do recall great concern about some new coaching techniques a couple of years ago. There has been considerable pain before we saw the gains in national performances.

National squads have been encouraged to try new things and, for as long as they have managed to keep the support of their sports and competitors (only just in some cases), they have gone on and often made great progress.

Yet again we return to the idea that success comes from being positive, from high expectations and hard work. If we try to take those important ideas and apply them in every Cumbrian school – along with imagination, investment, and respect – they will surely have a big impact. And if we are given the chance, let’s get involved in 2012.

The whole event will be what tomorrow’s memories are made of. We will have to remember to celebrate when we do well, enjoy the Olympics for themselves, marvel at the achievements and simply do our best.

Whether they are a great success or a disappointment will be down to us all and our commitment to them.

Now is it the Olympics, or children, I am talking about?