I have just been looking at the term dates for Oxfordshire Schools for 2009/10 and 2010/11. Term 6 in 2010 ends on Thursday 22nd July. Term 1 in 2010 starts on Wednesday 1st September. This means that I will have less than six weeks to cycle to Puglia. I need six weeks. It’s just as much psychological as it is a physical necessity. I am looking to organise a trip to the French Alps for students at school from 11th – 17th July in 2010. I am going to have to ask my headteacher for four days of unpaid leave for the period I return from that trip for the remaining few days of term 6. That doesn’t sound much but it will be around £500 out of my pocket. Unless I persuade her that having taken two days from my own weekends to escort kids to the Alps (and having done something similar at the end of May when I take a group of students to Paris), I deserve four days off unpaid. But that would set a precedent. She doesn’t like precedents. I have changed the date of departure on the countdown vote over there on the right to Monday 19th July 2010. This would give me a full six weeks and then one day to recover before school starts again….