This year has seen the one million pupils who attend Church of England schools play their part in celebrations to mark the founding of the Church of England's National Society in 1811, including our own church school here in Adel. It offered education to the poor in every parish - 50 years before the state joined in. More than 15 million people alive today had the benefit of a church school education in England and Wales. The work of the National Society received the royal seal of approval in the Queen's speech to General Synod in November 2010, when Her Majesty spoke of its "impact on the life of the Church and the nation". Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, President of the National Society, said: "Church schools continue to serve their communities, providing an inclusive education with a distinctive Christian ethos. I am immensely appreciative of the National Society's history and its continuing role in supporting Church of England schools."
 

As we prepare to remember our fallen soldiers, thoughts of some of you may well return to what life was like for ordinary people in the Second World War. A document has recently come into our hands about what life was like for the children of Leeds.

For us young people events in Germany seemed a long way off, but as we sat at our school desks and were measured for gas masks we began to realise the possible seriousness of the situation.
As a pupil at Cockburn High School I was summoned to school on 1st September 1939 to board a bus and then a train and set off for an unknown destination.

The gardens have been beautifully transformed

Early in October I went with a friend to visit Highgrove Gardens.  The two hour tour of the gardens was extremely interesting and we were led by a most informative guide.

Do you find Autumn rather melancholy?  More about fogs and falling leaves than mists and mellow fruitfulness? I think one reason for this is because we are so dismayed by change, and we want to hold on tight to what has brought us joy.

What should our response be to these feelings of sadness and regret? I believe November is a month for letting go of what has been, for what is being taken from us. Those feelings need to be acknowledged  - yes the garden was lovely this year, those roses were the best I’ve grown. 

It is true that there will never again be a year quite like this one.  But as we begin to accept the situation, we can find our hearts changing; to remember and be thankful for the rich, colourful experiences our gardens (and our lives) have brought us this year..

Greenfingers