Nothing clichéd in that at all! In fact, just to double down on the cliché, we will do the review in the form of numbers. 

6 – the number of external visits made this year. This tends to point to the fact that this was not a normal year. The last visit was to Tyne Coast College to meet up with the teaching team there and to record a podcast on FS English with Jonny Kay. Since then, I have worked virtually, not once leaving my house for the work office. 

2 – speaking of podcasts, 2 was the number recorded with peers across English and maths. The plan for 2021 is to resurrect the podcasts. Any volunteers? 

140,000 approx. - the number of Centre Assessed Grades Pearson processed for Functional Skills. Thanks to the hard work of the Assessment, Standards, TSI (Statistical Analysis), Results Resolution and Customer Services teams here at Pearson and the sound judgements of teachers, assessors and lecturers up and down the country, we did not change one single grade. 

0 – new languages learnt or new skills developed under lockdown. I could count to six in Japanese before lockdown and I still can. I found myself strangely busy this year, can’t think why! 

3 – the number of video lessons created for Functional Skills that are available on the webinar portal. It reminded me why I moved out of teaching (well that and having my 11-year-old home schooled too). We should all raise a toast to all teachers this year for going above and beyond for each and every one of their learners. 

33 – the number of live online national / network events we have run this year. A quick shout out to Alia for all her support with these events, rightly winning an end of year award for her support. 

3,305 – the total number of delegates signed up for those online events. The largest event had 212 delegates. Like everyone else, I hope I have made improvements in my delivery with these events. The latest platform we use now at least allows us to see people (and hear them too) and it is no longer like talking into an abyss. 3,305 is also the number of times I answered the question: “What evidence do we need for Centre Assessed Grades?”. 

4 – the number of webinars created. I have already planned out the first four for next year too. Watch this space. 

2 – the number of free resources created with comma splices. Three English teaching qualifications and I still make slips (not mistakes as they are different)*. Thanks to the Chair of Functional Skills English for pointing this out too. 

All that is left to wish everyone a safe holiday period and to hope that I will be able to meet some of you in person once again in 2021. 

Chris Briggs, Sector Manager Post-16 English and Maths  

*A slip is an error when you get something wrong, but you know how to do it correctly; a mistake is when you do not know how to do something and get it wrong.