2019 – My Year in Review
As seems to be the case as we get older and have children of our own, the year flew by and we share a collective excitement, or apprehension, about the year and decade to come. 2019 had plenty of discussion points, one of which I shall make a point of not mentioning! However, here is my year in review, with some of my personal highlights.
Many of you will know my sporting passion is cricket, so this year’s hosting of the Cricket World Cup was something I’d been relishing. It did not disappoint! A mix of cricketing excellence, stunning losses, strong recovery and a nerve-jangling finale saw England crowned world champions.
It was an epic tournament and one that will live long in the memory.
The other big sporting event on my calendar was the rugby world cup in Japan. Despite the pause in action and cancellation of some matches due to the typhoon conditions, Japan excelled itself and delivered an exceptionally well-run tournament.
England simply dominated many leading teams, including what will become a legendary victory over New Zealand to reach the final. Unfortunately, they faced South Africa, a team that hit their zenith at just the right time. This time, England were overpowered by a better side and earned a well-deserved 2nd place.
In my other sporting interest, Manchester City dominated all-comers to seal the football Premiership title. There’s a saying that to be the champ you must beat the champ, and they took the league by the scruff from the first whistle. A richly deserved title win!
The last part of 2019 was dominated by the UK the general election. Regardless of your political leanings, I suspect you found it all as frustratingly depressing as I did.
In among a great deal of doom-laden forecasts regarding climate change, a shining star emerged in the form of Greta Thunberg. For the first time, someone was able to cut through the noise, nonsense, loaded agendas and downright lies and get media fully focused on the reality. The climate crisis is real and needs action now.
OK, we know it needed action a long time ago, but as they say, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is right now.
That Greta is a child makes her achievement all the more remarkable. And while there are many dissenting voices quick to point out that this apparent idealism is impractical and unaffordable, there aren’t too many saying she’s wrong. Hopefully she will be the catalyst that moves countries to collaborate more meaningfully for the benefit of our children, future generations and all the inhabitants of this beautiful planet of ours.
Closer to home, MST had another stellar year, with our students achieving extraordinary exam results, and once again gaining entrance to first choice, prestigious schools and universities.
I’ve also accelerated efforts to ensure that private tuition is as accessible as possible with more tutors coming on board, enabling us to offer a much broader range of services and price points. This is also reflected in our Easter GCSE Maths Masterclass in April.
2020 sees Mathematics and Science Tuition in business for 10 years. Again, time has truly flown, and it feels like we’re making a greater impact on educational success than ever, with much more to come.
The coming year will see no shortage of drama both locally and abroad, with the Olympics to be held in Tokyo, a US presidential election and here in London we’ll see the mayoral election too.
In other news, private tuition, until recently regarded as a rather taboo subject, has received some positive press, which was pleasing.
So that’s my look back at my highlights and now along with everyone else I’m looking forward to great things in 2020.
Happy New Year everyone and I wish you the best of times!
Muhammad.
