Robert Ashton advises on the importance of attention to detail.

I’ve been invited back to my old school to speak at a presentation evening. I’ve not visited since I left in 1971, clutching a pitiful bundle of low grade ‘O’ Levels and CSEs. Back then it was a crappy secondary modern school; today it’s an aspirational academy.

A few weeks ago I popped in to meet the head and see how things had changed over 40 years. The grim ‘60s teaching block was just the same. The bike sheds were still in the same place and the surrounding social housing was bleak and depressing. There was a new entrance, a kind of air-lock within which visitors are penned until considered risk-free enough to allow into the building. Oh and the word ‘academy’ running up the wall in giant letters.

The head was positive and talked boldly about his quest to encourage more youngsters to go to university. A bold ambition when you consider the low income of many of the families living in the town. Add the fact that the town is poised to experience a massive boom when a new nuclear power station is built nearby and you wonder if the true opportunity is being missed.

You see, an academy is a social enterprise. Sure, it’s judged by Ofsted on exam grades and student destinations, but what about the community of which it forms a vital part? Of course the high-fliers need to be encouraged and let go, but more will stay. They need to see that building careers and businesses here is a good thing to do, not second best. I’ll be asking some tough questions on Thursday evening.

But I’ll also be presenting a special prize for punctuation. You see the email signature of the head’s PA is missing its apostrophe. That says more to me about the school than any prospectus. The devil is in the detail and the future is in the town. That’s my message. Let’s see how well it goes down!