Author: Jerry Leger

The thought of Sir Alex Ferguson, of all people, being subdued by a bunch of teenagers from Trafford and Wythenshawe is subtly humorous. Grown men who had captained their nations left his office looking shaken for the majority of his career. Knowing that a single incorrect word could end a press conference early, reporters carefully considered their questions. Nevertheless, a few schoolchildren with notebooks and nervousness were able to persuade him to drop his guard somewhere in the Old Trafford hallways. Radiowaves, a youth internet radio station that had been discreetly carrying out this kind of work for years, organized…

The way the National Network of Special Schools continues to schedule Liverpool seems a little obstinate. The same Delta Marriott on Queen Square, year after year. It was the same early-morning group of business managers balancing coffees that were obviously the second of the day while wheeling overnight cases through the lobby. Perhaps this consistency is the key. The conference circuit treatment that mainstream secondary heads receive is typically not extended to special school finance officers. They therefore appear when something is made especially for them. And they continue to appear. DetailInformationEvent NameNational Network of Special Schools (NNoSS) Annual Conference…

The name Hertswood Lower School has special significance for anyone who grew up in Borehamwood in the early 2000s. It wasn’t the entire school. It was only half of it. Depending on the year and the schedule, students in Years 7, 8, and occasionally 9 would walk between two campuses, one at Cowley Hill and the other at Thrift Farm Lane, which are about 400 meters apart. Even now, there is a feeling that the split had a greater influence on a generation of students’ personalities than the curriculum ever did. Compromise gave rise to the school itself. In order…

Watching table tennis in the Pacific is a unique experience. The squeak of rubber soles on a court that had likely been cleared of folding chairs an hour earlier, the small hall, the pace. That quality was present in Rarotonga in late September 2009. Outside, the palms close to the Tereora complex were being affected by the trade winds as usual. Four tables in the room were illuminated by fluorescent lights, and for nearly two weeks they were at the center of a quiet, intense story that, although it didn’t make headlines around the world, was very important to the…

The way this nation views swimming is distinctly Australian. This is more than just a sport. It’s a backyard custom, a national habit that kids pick up before they can spell. Swimming Australia, an organization that has been subtly influencing the nation’s relationship with the water since 1909—long before the majority of the world had figured out what competitive swimming was supposed to look like—sits at the center of all of that. It’s difficult to ignore how deeply the sport permeates everyday life when strolling past any neighborhood pool on a Saturday morning and observing parents in folding chairs and…