AS our kitchen was finally finished this week, my wife and I reflected (with tears in our eyes) on what hurt us the most over the last 12 weeks without one.

Was it having to do the washing up in the bath?

Initially painful but since the discovery of paper plates, became a breeze.

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Was it buying a freezer full of frozen health meals, only to find out they were horrible and always managed to be slightly frozen in the middle despite being nuked in the microwave?

Dreadful, but we do have a McDonald's down the road.

No, as you might expect, it was our children.

If there was a dangerous piece of equipment…they would try to climb it.

Lots of wires across the floor…a perfect opportunity for a game of hide and seek.

Drying paint…why not hug the wall for the first time.

Say what you will about them, but they have a gift for ramping up the pressure in a challenging situation.

Unlike with my kitchen, the Whitmore new build has been taking place a good distance away and is so methodically organised that we have barely been affected.

It is a testament to the builders, Morgan Sindall, that the school has only benefitted from their presence.

It almost feels unfair that we are about to get all the benefits of moving into a fantastic building without having to deal with a painful transition.

Maybe I should take my children on a tour of the new site and give the builders a taste of what I’ve been through in the last 12 weeks?

Thing is, Morgan Sindall they are so good they’d probably have the boys behaving impeccably and plastering walls by the end of the week.