Oh, the unparalleled efficiency of our local authority, where coordination and communication are as rare as an empty inbox on a Monday morning.

Picture this: a high school in the throes of exam season, with students facing the most stressful period of their young lives. Now, add to that mix a dash of delightful chaos in the form of roadworks scheduled to coincide precisely with GCSEs and A-levels. What a brilliant stroke of genius!

I can’t help but marvel at the sheer brilliance behind the decision to dig up the roads outside a high school during exams. It’s almost as if the left hand didn’t just ignore the right hand but actively sought to sabotage it. Clearly, inter-departmental communication is a foreign concept here. You have to admire the irony of a local authority that prides itself on planning and organisation yet manages to turn a simple road repair into a full-blown catastrophe.

Let’s break down the immediate issues, shall we? Imagine the scene: anxious students, who have spent months cramming for their exams, now trapped in endless morning tailbacks. As the minutes tick by, their anxiety skyrockets. What better way to prepare for an exam than to spend half and hour inching towards school, heart racing, as the realisation dawns that they might be late for the most important test of their lives? And let’s not forget the teachers and staff, who, despite their superhuman ability to navigate the bureaucratic maze that is our education system, are powerless against the gridlock. They too find themselves caught in this masterpiece of poor planning, unable to reach the school on time to support their students.

But wait, there’s more! This isn’t just about a few stressed-out students and tardy teachers. This is a testament to the wider issue at hand: a total, unapologetic disregard for the timing of ‘planned’ roadworks. It’s as if the concept of a school calendar never made it to the desk of whoever is in charge of public works. Or perhaps it did, but it was promptly used to prop up a wobbly table, because clearly, no one is paying attention to it.

The ripple effects are endless. Parents, already frazzled from trying to keep their teenagers on track, now have to contend with the additional stress of navigating traffic jams and ensuring their children aren’t late for their exams. Local residents, whose only crime is living near a school, find their daily commutes transformed into odysseys of frustration and honking horns.

I do wonder what the planning meetings at our local authority look like. Perhaps they gather around a table, each department proudly presenting their plans, blissfully unaware of what the others are doing. Or maybe they’ve taken a page out of the surrealist’s handbook, throwing darts at a calendar to decide when to dig up roads, with no consideration for the chaos and stress that will ensue.

Naturally, after my child almost missed an exam due to this chaos, I filed a complaint. With a mixture of hope and frustration, I explained the dire situation and was assured that it would be sorted promptly. Naively, I believed them. After following up again, I was told the road works would be removed for the weekend and put back for the following Monday and Tuesday – ideal! How many GCSE and A-level exams do you think take place at the weekend?

Hats off to our local authority for providing a masterclass in how not to coordinate public services. By putting roadworks outside a high school during exams, they’ve managed to create a perfect storm of stress, anxiety, and frustration. It’s almost impressive how effectively they’ve turned a simple task into a community-wide debacle. So here’s to the next round of roadworks—let’s hope it coincides with the school holidays, though I wouldn’t bet on it, because that would be far too sensible wouldn’t it!