You know, I was never a nerd at school. In fact, I think it would be fair to say that I was a member of the in-crowd. I was good at sport, played lead roles in all the major productions, the whole ball of wax. As far as my friends were concerned, I had "the school game" sussed.

Nevertheless, as far as the teachers were concerned, I wasn't very good at "the school game". Why? Because I insisted on participating in every extra-mural activity going and not focusing on my school work to the exclusion of all else.

It seems to me that there are actually two school games - there is the game the kids see, and the game the teachers see.

I remember yet another visit to the head's office to account for poor results on a history exam and being asked why I was doing so poorly when my best mate had done so well "and she doesn't have half your potential!" My best mate (bless her heart) was a proper nerd, who spent her life studying and doing blow-all else. I earned myself a long stint in detention by replying that "She will leave school with nothing but book learning. That's not an education. I will be the one who leaves school with a rounded education, because I will bleed this stingy system dry of everything it can give me."

Good grief - I was a learning mutineer even at 15!