Our new weekly rota of Saturday columnists continues with Andy Martin on why he thinks a supercouncil is out - and why businesses should take the time to speak to schools

My piece in the business section on Tuesday on the plans to merge Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and possible East Dorset into one 'super council' put the cat among pigeons at County Hall apparently.

There were photocopies left around in the members' room.

The article was a report on a Dorset Chamber business lunch last Friday addressed by leaders and chief executives of the conurbation councils.

Cllr John Beesley, Bournemouth's leader, said the unitary plan was "the only way forward."

He may be right. In that time-honoured phrase, something must be done. The current over-bureaucratic, multi-layered and inefficient system has long since ceased to be sustainable, if it ever was.

To most residents, the whole debate seems academic and makes their eyes glaze over.

But whatever happens it will affect everyone of in terms of the council and the services that may or may not be delivered in future. And how much we pay, for those that remain.

County councillors are now waking up to just how advanced these proposals are across the conurbation border and what the implications are if the county is split into two.

For while a single conurbation council would appear to be a perfectly viable economic proposition, a western unitary almost certainly would not.

Which is why, after the smoke has cleared from the battleground, the government is much more likely to approve one authority for the whole of Dorset, making it fit with real power in the county, the Local Enterprise Partnership.

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I was in a bad mood on Tuesday morning. Until I went to school.

One of the nice things about editing a newspaper (and there are plenty of rubbish parts of the job) is being invited to speak at a variety of events.

As long as the jokes work, I much prefer to 'perform' in front a large group of people - a business gathering or a lecture hall full of students, than a small group. Small talk is not my forte.

Indeed, I find it uncomfortable more often than not. My psychiatrist, if I had one, would probably make something of that.

So I was delighted to be invited to talk to 500 pupils at St Peter's School during their assembly on Tuesday.

It was, as I explained to them, only the second time I had ever spoken at a school assembly.

The other occasion was about 20 years ago when I asked by my old headteacher Mr Partridge, to return to Homefield, sadly no longer in existence, to give the Founder's Day speech.

This was despite having been caned three times by the very same Mr P, in my first week there as a 15-year-old. For fighting, backchat and bunking off.

The talk at St Peter's was an absolute pleasure, although my joke about getting caned fell flat. I should have realised that the concept of corporal punishment would bit alien.

But my question to the students about their ownership of smartphones and tablets was more on target. I'd say 490 hands shot up when I asked who had them, in the context of how multi media journalists do what they do in the digital age.

The most surprising thing was not the talk or the questions, but the gratitude of head of year, Mr Tarr.

Hardly anyone he said, from business and commerce seems prepared to give up time to go into school and talk to the pupils these days.

Most people never reply and if they do, the majority want to be paid.

That seems incredibly short sighted.

Yes, part of a newspaper's role is to be out thee in the community, doing things like this. But that's not exclusively our preserve. It's disappointing, so if anyone from the business world is reading this, they might like to contact Mr Tarr. Come on, let's be having you.

I've got to say it was the most enjoyable thing I did all working week.

Quite by chance the following night, I was sorting through paperwork belonging to my father who died last year and I came across my own school reports.

There were none from Homefield, but many from my primary and grammar schools in the London Borough of Hillingdon.

Andrew has "a refreshing sense of humour but it can become tedious."

Andrew has "a particularly lively imagination.

"Andrew has a lively and pleasing disposition and is well liked."

Boy, it's all gone very downhill since then.

Ah those were the days.

Cane or no cane.