Congratulations ...

I'm over the moon as all of my students have passed their English or Maths GCSEs despite their learning difficulties. I am OH SO proud of you all .

Made some congratulation cards on my Silhouette Cameo machine and they'll be whizzing off to the shiny red post box on the corner of our road any minute now.

In fact I want to wish every student who has achieved what they needed in their GCSE exams despite what Michael Gove has thrown at them.

We've all seen the photos of those whose grade results were bursting at the seams with A* grades. They've been snapped by the broadsheets jumping for joy and hugging their friends, safe in the knowledge that their abundance of academic riches will secure whatever option they choose to pursue next ... but I'm particularly and utterly exhilarated for those who scaled unimaginable mountains to achieve the ultimate reward - a pass in a subject which may have seemed insurmountable a few short months ago.

They are the real heroes - the students whose confidence has been continually challenged , the students who've felt they'll never amount to anything , the students who have been excluded from school for their challenging behaviour through no fault of their own, the students for whom the task of battling an uninvited learning difficulty must have felt like a Royal Marines Assault Course.

I wish them many many years of unbridled success because they are the young men and young women who really deserve our praise and heartfelt pride. A 'C' or a 'D' or an 'E' grade to a child who has never felt able to decipher the print in a textbook, who has never appeared on the roll-calls of honour or has never topped a league table  has achieved more than all the A* grades put together.

Congratulations to YOU !