When your pupils leave school you lose contact with them. It's sad in a way because when you've taught a class for two years you do get to know them quite well. Some of my year elevens from last year have stayed on to do A-Levels so I know how they're doing, some of my current year elevens have shown me pictures of a former pupil blind drunk and I teach the sister of one of them who has managed to get his girlfriend pregnant. I use that phrase rather than 'is expecting a baby with his girlfriend' as I don't think it was planned.

On Tuesday one of my ex-pupils came in to school to tell me how they'd got on with their resit at college. She'd ended up with a D after struggling with attendance towards the end of year eleven. In her resit she'd managed to improve to a B, so obviously I was delighted for her, especially as she'd come in the day before her exam and I'd given her some extra help with a past paper. Though it doesn't speak wonders for my teaching that two years of being in my class resulted in a D, but in a couple of months at college she was able to get a B. I think I might try teaching them less - it seems to do the trick.