Wednesday 18th February 2026

It has been a rather uneventful day here in Kurunegala. I observed 3 lessons in Grades 5 and 6 this morning, followed by two more in Grades 7 and 8 this afternoon. I was able to give feedback to all 5 teachers, but my frustration today (as it was yesterday) was in not being able to give feedback to the key person in the school, who wasn't in school yesterday, and was too busy to see me this afternoon. This is an enormous school, of course!

I completely understand the lack of availability, but delayed feedback can lose its impetus rather quickly I find, and I have my last day here a week on Friday, so there is increasingly less time left for me to have an impact. I do wonder what level of impact I am having, as my contribution is like a tiny droplet of water in a very vast ocean. I am reminded of that common English phrase 'every little helps', which I am really latching onto here at the moment.

I think I have already mentioned somewhere in my blog that famous quote from Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC, that 'The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step', and I can tell you that this school has been on a quite amazing journey since it was first founded by Madam Sandra Wanduragala, and it is a privilege to be able to play even the tiny droplet of water role in that absolute ocean of discovery.

I actually fly home two weeks today on Wednesday 4th March, but I am only back for a week before heading off to our home in Cres, Croatia with Valerie. We are only out there for 3 weeks though, so I am looking on my return to the UK on Wednesday 1st April as the start of my proper time back in the UK. I will then be back in Bath for 4 months, so I will be able to establish some sort of routine, including getting back to the gym!

The first two photographs today were taken from the top of the Junior building and give you some idea of just how colossal this place is (with a whole Pre-Primary Department of around 1,000 students on another site altogether!). There is also another huge building currently being constructed, so the student numbers here could exceed 4,000 eventually, I think. The other four photographs are of today's lesson observations, which were very enjoyable.







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