Principal’s Welcome
06/06/2025
Dear Westholme Family,
To quote Gary Lineker, “It wasn’t meant to end this way.”
We English have an unfortunate history with penalty shootouts. As a Year 9, my heart was broken in Italia ‘90 and then again as a second year student at the end of Euro ‘96.
It happened again on Wednesday morning as our Year 7 boys lost in the final of the Blackburn with Darwen Cup. Despite dominating the game and playing the more progressive football, the game ended 2-2 and we lost in the lottery of a shoot-out.
I met the squad after the semi-final to tell them that I would be proud whatever the result was in the final. Afterall, how often do we see the better team lose in one-off situations?
When I spoke to the boys afterwards, what really struck me was what mature young people they are. I explained that I was proud of how hard they had worked at their game all year, how proud I was of the spirit in which they played the game and how proud I was of the graceful way they congratulated their opponents.
I also explained my “24 Hour Rule”: it’s ok to be down for a day, but then we get back up and go again!
Mens sana in corpore sano is part of the Westholme mission.
I often remark that my predecessors of the 1950s were well ahead of their time when they devised the Westholme motto of “A healthy mind in a healthy body”. In fact, the origins of the phrase can be traced to the 2nd century when Roman poet Juvenal put it first in his list of what is desirable in life.
English philosopher John Locke was keen on the phrase as was US President Harry S. Truman. The sports company ASICS derives its name from a variant, with Anima replacing Mens at the start of its acronym.
The links between sport, especially team sports, and positive mental health are well documented. For me, though, the power of any team activity is the lessons learnt for life. Some are positive: learning to lead, learning to motivate or learning humility, for example.
Some lessons aren’t necessarily pleasant at the time: not getting selected for a lead role in Miss Saigon, hitting a wrong note at a crucial point of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 or losing a cup final on penalties would qualify for my 24 Hour Rule, but all are recoverable positions given the right mindset.
Schools focus on results – quite rightly – but the intangibles can be equally important.
Mr Purdy has done a terrific job with this team, but I’ll leave the final word on this topic to a manager who won and lost a few times:
“39 years as a manager and I have to say, it wasn’t all roses. There were times you had to fight your way through things. You depended on your determination. The most important thing I want to make you aware of, because it will happen, is failure. I could confront disappointment, I could confront failure because it’s a part of your life. Don’t think you’re going to go through it without disappointment. It’ll happen.”
With best wishes for the weekend and Eid Mubarak to all our families who are celebrating this weekend.
Paul Taylor
