The Easter holidays await, and these are always a personal favourite of mine. The spring term passes so quickly, and it reminds me that time ticks on so regularly in the school year and this caused me to reflect upon what it is we do in schools. Sometimes we blink and another term passes, years tick by, and it can feel like a conveyor belt of education. At Learning Partners, we strive to ensure this isn't the experience of our children. What phrase best encapsulates this? 'Making memories'.

As adults, and those as long in the tooth as I, think back to our school days - it is the memories and friendships that we remember most thoroughly. Of course, the lessons are vital, the exams important as the keys to our next steps, however we know that school is so much more than this.

It is the friendships we form, the school trips we participate in, the sports fixtures, school plays and foreign exchange trips. It is these examples of school experiences that form long in the memory. It is our staff that give up the hours, form the relationships and believe in the wider purpose of education that makes our schools special. Throughout the term, I have found my heart gladdened by catching up with the award winners, the artists, the musicians, the athletes. However, it is those who have formed their own groups, their own communities and sense of belonging that encourages me most. It is these groups within our schools that indicates children who are thriving. We are empowering our young people to set up gardening clubs, chess groups, Uno societies and the like. If education teaches us anything, it is the skills and drive to become the change we wish to see in the world. Our children achieving this for themselves is a sign of us delivering on our vision: 'leading schools where children thrive'.

I could provide a never-ending list of opportunities that our children have engaged in this term. The grand, the prestigious and the all-encompassing to the small scale, the virtuoso and bespoke. All of this matters. It is these 'making of memories' that mark us apart. That is our calling and make us think of spring.

Jack Mayhew, CEO, Learning Partners