I write this column during the first week of the summer holidays, with schools having just broken up for their well-earned summer break.
It is worth acknowledging just how well our schools have performed over the last year. There is so much to be positive about our schools here in Somerset and it is one of the great joys of my job to regularly visit schools across the patch to meet with teachers and students alike.
A special mention should go to Whitstone School for their excellent recent Ofsted report. It was a pleasure to meet with their leadership team recently and I am delighted at the progress they have made, which will be so positive for Shepton and the surrounding area.
With the holidays now upon us and the glorious weather we have had over the last weeks continuing, Somerset is a truly wonderful place to be. We have such a breadth of culture and beautiful countryside to be enjoyed, from Wells Cathedral and Glastonbury Abbey to the beaches in Burnham and Berrow and rolling hills of the Mendips, and there is no better time to make the most of it.
I am immensely proud to represent our beautiful part of Somerset and am very much looking forward to our first full summer holiday season since the Covid-19 pandemic. I hope you are able to enjoy all our wonderful county has to offer over the summer.
