SQUEAK!

Did everyone hear a loud squeak last Wednesday?
That was the sound of Christopher passing French this year.

Yes – deep breath – he passed. Not exactly with flying colors and certainly not without a tremendous supportive effort on the part of a substantial number of people, including Peter, Paddy, Sascha, our former neighbor who teaches French at another school, Christopher's French teacher ... But passing is passing, so now he does not have to spend the summer preparing for another exam at the start of the next school year again, but is free to set out exploring Europe by train.

Now Christopher, Paddy, Sascha, Alex and George – that's right, five boys aged 15, 16, and 17 – will be travelling all over Europe for three weeks in August by Interrail. I think it's a kind of "coming of age" ritual in Europe. Whenever these plans are mentioned, the faces of everyone we talk to, no matter what age they are now, light up with pleasure at the memory of their own Interrail summer as a teenager.

At last, after three years it looks as though we may finally be able to enjoy a summer again!