I rashly said our governing body never voted and that my role as chair was to reiterate the arguments until everyone was as unanimous as I was. This was a joke - obviously not a very good one, or perhaps they don’t do irony in Weston-super-Mare.

There is a serious point here. Voting may produce a quick decision but it cuts short discussion, leaving the losing side aggrieved and preventing the possibility of arriving at a compromise that all can support.

Many years ago, I was part of an interview panel for a headship. The discussion took seven hours. Halfway through, tired, hungry and with a clear majority emerging, I suggested a vote, only to be quietly reminded by another governor that “we don’t decide things that way at this school”. She was right. It was good, in the end, to be able to tell all candidates and other governors that the decision had been unanimous.

Fortunately, it doesn’t always take that long. We are all on the same side with the same objective - the best education for our children. Governance should not be an adversarial process. Down with voting!