Good luck cards for GCSE students

May 14 2007 By Tony Collins, Birmingham Mail

THOUSANDS of pupils have been given a special 'good luck' message as they prepare for vital GCSE exams.

Birmingham City Council's head of education, Tony Howell, is delivering Good Luck in your Exams cards to every Year 11 pupil in the city.

The outside of the card features a good luck message and pictures of a number of Birmingham icons including the Bullring and the Mailbox.

Inside the card is Mr Howell's message together with last minute support guidance and places to go to access the internet for studying.

Good luck messages are also being displayed on buses, trains and adverts throughout the city.

The card, unveiled at St John Wall Catholic School, in Oxhill Road, Handsworth, also features website www.bgfl.org/gcserevision, which offers links to useful websites that offer revision advice, along with hints and tips.

Mr Howell said while delivering cards direct to pupils at St John Wall Catholic School: ÒWe would like to see all young people in Birmingham achieving a good set of qualifications that will prepare them for further learning and the world of work.

ÒIt is vital that teachers, friends and family keep all Birmingham pupils enthused at such an important milestone.

"By ensuring each of the 12,789 Year 11 pupils gets a good luck card, and by displaying this message on posters throughout the city, we are saying how proud we are as a city and how determined we are that all our pupils succeed, both now and in the future."

Shawnavon Radcliffe, a Year 11 pupil at St John Wall school, said: "Getting the card has made me feel good because it has come from somewhere important like the council. It has given me a boost to do even more revision than I was already planning to do."

The cards cost just under £1,500 to design and print, with funding from an incentive scheme linked to Birmingham pupils achieving GCSE results above the city target in 2005/06.