Prospective

Well, I just got back from the Glyn Prospective Parents Evening. Oh, it was fun. Actually, I'll even include the first bulleted list of my blog, no less!

The evening started off well, with preparations complete by the 4:30 start, even I had time to rustle up a banner (of which I'm infamous) for the History department. But five things went wrong:

• Prefects and sixth formers were left basically to fend for themselves with minimal instruction past "put up Refreshment signs. Quite a few people I spoke to on my departure were not happy.
• The embarrassing shortage of prospectuses. C'mon, school, any good organization showing off its stuff has a surplus of these things.
• Being asked to stay on until 9PM. Sorry, but unlike most, I didn't have time to go home to refresh myself before the event begun, so I had to sustain myself on a tuna sandwich, the end of a baguette with ham and cheese, some Doritoes, a lone chocolate mini roll and two plastic cups of Coke (not even Pepsi)
• Guided tours left with year 7 guides with four or so attendees while Sixth Form guides had massive cohorts of 20 parents.
• Hundreds of people were expected to squeeze into three sittings in the hall of a presentation and speech by Mr. Chaloner, the headmaster. There wasn't even standing room; some prospective parents missed out, even after waiting for a later sitting.
• No maps or signs for the toilets were produced until very late on.

But a big thanks to my prefect friends Dan, Ben, Anthony, Ollie, Jamie, Jack, Natalie, Peter and others whose names escape me at the moment.

So, to be frank, this was a fine evening, I didn't mind helping, but there were serious lapses in general well-being. Pause for thought, for next year.