This is both an anxious and exciting time for many of our young people in Mid Cheshire.
Last week teenagers across Winsford, Middlewich and Northwich were picking up their A-level results, taking their next step on their pathway to further education or employment.
This week it is the turn of our 16-year-olds who will receive their GCSE results on Thursday, and no doubt more celebrations and plans will follow.
Whatever their results, after years of hard work I hope all our youngsters can take time to celebrate their achievements and feel ready to take that next big step in their lives.
I would also like to say a big thank you to the teachers and families who have backed our young people every step of the way.
However, it is important to remember that there is no single route for young people to achieve their ambitions, and the Government is currently working to open doors with more high-quality opportunities for all young people to fulfil their potential.
Whether through academic study, technical education or hands on training for skilled work, there are different routes available to all.
While we can all celebrate the rise in standards in the past 30 years, there is a growing acknowledgement that in pursuit of a particular measure of success we may have narrowed the view of what matters.
The next challenge is to ensure our system is for all. That means equipping young people with the skills they need to thrive, reforming SEND and tackling the regional attainment gap, because where you grow up should not limit what you can go on to do.
Being pro-excellent technical education does not mean you're anti-academic: academic and technical options can and must exist side by side and complement each other.
That is why when V-levels are introduced next year, they will be the same size as A-levels, allowing students to study a combination of academic and vocational courses with clear pathways to employment.
This is all while reforming apprenticeships, including by fully funding apprenticeship training for under-25s.
Whilst there is much to celebrate this week, it is also a reminder that we need to redouble efforts to overturn the inheritance in education and skills which sees too many of our young people still left behind.
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