That’s true whether Junior is heading for a new school or “just” a fresh academic year. It is debatable whether it was our children or my wife and I who felt more pain at having to get up early enough to manage the school runs. It doesn’t help that the kids go to two different schools in two different towns, neither of which is the one where we live. Why on Earth would we make life easier for ourselves?

Growing up back in the United Kingdom, there was a sense that our household revolved around September. It wasn’t just that there were, at various times, four of us going back to school (my parents were much more sensible, and, although there was a 14-year gap between first and last born, by and large we all went to the same primary and secondary schools). My father was a headmaster, meaning the start of the school year really was a big day for him. Did he have all the teachers he needed in place? Was there cover for the inevitable sickness? If there wasn’t, would his schedule allow him to step in? When were the first governors’ and parents’ meetings? Most of all, what were the latest round of regulatory changes introduced by the government of the day that he would need to understand and implement? Half-term breaks and Christmas were welcome, but hardly enough for him to switch off; that only came at the start of summer. September, therefore, was the end of that respite.

I had always wondered why an academic year would start in September rather than January. It seems it was driven by the agricultural cycle of the year, before schooling became compulsory. Attempting to persuade parents to release their children to the classroom during the spring and summer, when there were seeds to sow or crops to harvest, was a fool’s errand. By the fall, in comparison, there was no need for all hands to work, so it made sense to start here, once education became mandatory, in the hope that parents would get used to the idea, and attendance levels could build.

For businesses that operate on a calendar year basis, I guess September brings with it the not inconsequential start of the budgetary planning phase for the year to come. For employees, it is back to the grindstone after some (hopefully) hard-earned rest and relaxation. The leaders among you may have finally been able to take a break from the mundane day-to-day long enough to free up some bandwidth to start thinking about targets and developments. For all of us, it is time for a deep breath and the push on toward December. Christmas will be with us before you know it!

Robin Marshall

Editor-in-chief

This editorial was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of September 5, 2025.