Well done!

School results are imminent and as always there will be a lot of media speculation. If students get good results is this because the exams have been dummed down – and if students do not get better results than last year, are standards in schools are falling? Both the students and the teachers who have all worked extremely hard over years to get the best grades must sometimes feel despondent by the media clamour! I certainly do.

While there are many policies that the Coalition believes need to change in education, each and every one of our local students should be commended for their results this summer. Some young people are natural straight A students, others have to work extremely hard to get the grades that they want. We must always recognise that some of our schools leavers are just not academic – and that didn’t hold Sir Richard Branson back!

But applying for university, further education or getting work will be the challenge now facing our school leavers. There will be some who will be disappointed in not getting to their first choice university but I urge them to enter the university clearing process through www.ukus.ac.uk. Thanet College has a wide range of exciting courses that link directly into professions and opportunities for work.

However It is those young people now looking for work who we as a community need to help support. And so I call on our small businesses locally to consider taking on apprentices if they can and if they contact Business Link or Connexions, these organisations will help with recruiting keen young people who are looking for their first job.

For my part I want to commend all the young people for their results – and say a big thank you to the teachers and parents who have supported their children over many years.