It was a tense 90 minutes in Sydney this week, as the Lionesses faced the hosts Australia and their raucous home crowd before progressing to the World Cup Final. A huge congratulations to the team for their excellent performance, and best of luck for the final on Sunday!
It is fantastic to see the popularity of Women’s football continue to grow, from not being televised b at all to filling 80k capacity stadiums. We have seen this impact carried over to young girls in Swindon with Abbey Meads FC supporting the FA’s Wild Cats girl’s football sessions, NALGO Lionesses going from strength to strength, and a number of other girls’ teams seeing increased interest. As a father of two girls, I am delighted to see interest in women’s sport grow and I hope this continues.
Win or lose on Sunday, it is a fantastic achievement just to reach the final and I know the country is immensely proud of our incredible Lionesses!
Thousands of young people who received their A-level results yesterday should also be feeling very proud. I still remember the nervousness and anticipation I felt as I waited to find out how I did – which alas weren’t quite how I had hoped!
Ofqual announced last September that AS and A levels are returning to pre-pandemic grading; however, there are protections built in to recognise the disruption students have faced. This means allowances will be made where national performance is lower than before the pandemic due to disruption. Therefore, a typical student who would have achieved, for example, a B grade in A level geography before the pandemic, will be just as likely to get a B in geography in 2023.
A huge congratulation to every student, and the teachers who have supported them to this point. I would also like to make clear that your A-Level results or whether you go to university doesn’t define who you are or what you can go on to achieve. There are so many opportunities open to you and I wish you the best of luck with whatever path you decide to take!
Finally we have seen a flurry of positive economic figures this week. Our growing economy continues to deliver near record employment rates, with over 4m more people in work since 2010. Wages are rising, energy prices and now food inflation are falling – resulting in inflation down to 6.8% - the lowest level since February last year. Cutting inflation is vital, as it leaves families with more money in their pockets,
The figures show that the decisive action we have taken to tackle inflation is working, but we are not at the finish line yet. We must stick to our plan to halve inflation this year and get it back to the 2 per cent target as soon as possible, but this weeks figures certainly point towards a brighter, more positive future.
