This afternoon we were delighted to welcome the CEO of Diverse Academies, Chris Pickering, who joined us for a special academy assembly.
Mr Pickering retires from the Trust in May this year, and is embarking on a farewell tour of all of the academies. He joined us today to speak with our pupils about his time in education and his plans for his retirement, where he is looking forward to gardening, spending time with this grandchildren, learning to cook outdoors and watching his beloved Doncaster Rovers Football Club.
He also spoke to our children about the importance of being kind and good to each other, relating it to gardening. When we say beautiful and positive things to people, it is like the garden is flowering and makes for a pleasant place to be, but negativity is like weeds that can make a garden feel bad and be a horrible place to be.
At the close of the assembly, Mr Pickering was presented with a cactus (as pupils had spoken to him at head office about these!) and a special Wainwright teddy bear. We thank him for coming to see us, and wish him all the best for his retirement.
