From a school awards day to the heart of a good pub, a few words from Mark

Hey everyone,

Something a bit different from me this week.

I visited my youngest son’s end-of-year awards ceremony today. It was wonderful to see so many young people being celebrated for their achievements.

But honestly, my biggest takeaway wasn’t from the awards themselves. It came from the wise words of Mr Preston, the head teacher.
He said something that really stopped me.

“We celebrate excellence, of course, we do. But I want you to hear this: we are not perfect as a school. I make mistakes. What matters is recognising that, being honest about it, and learning and growing. We believe that happiness is the key to children achieving. Happiness before excellence.”

That hit me.

Because if we only ever celebrate excellence, what happens when a child doesn’t win? What are we showing them?

In life, you need resilience. When things go wrong, how we handle them matters. Being kind when no one is watching matters. I genuinely believe we learn more in the difficult times than we do when everything is flying.

Perhaps there’s a child who isn’t necessarily academic or sporty, but is creative. Recognising those talents, nurturing them and helping them find happiness, that’s the real job.

His school values were simple.
Work hard. Always be honest. Be kind.
Sound familiar?

They are words I hope sit at the heart of our pubs too.
Because a good pub is not just about the food, the drink or the building. It is about how people make you feel.

A warm welcome. A proper smile. A team that cares. Someone going the extra mile when they do not have to.

At Freespirit, we will always try to be honest, kind, hardworking and better than we were yesterday.

Mr Preston, you left a real impression on me today. The way you empower your teachers and pupils to work hard, be happy and humble, and to lead with honesty and kindness, really stayed with me.
I believe those things go much further than we realise.

Have a great week everyone.
Big love,
Mark