New Delhi: You receive a letter from school and your heart palpitates, especially if you are expecting your test results. It is not something that you would expect to cheer you up.

This letter that a head teacher at the Barrowford Primary School in Lancashire, UK wrote  to her students right after their KS2 SAT test was different. It warmed thier heart and renewed their enthusiasm for school. The letter has now gone viral on the internet.

Around the world and more so in India, where student achievements are measured solely by their academic scores, this letter has tremendous relevance. A case in point is Delhi University’s 99% plus admission cut off scores.

In this letter to her students, this teacher urges her pupils to take pride in who they are irrespective of their pending test results. 

The letter reads like this:

“Dear Charlie Owen,

Please find enclosed your end of KS2 test results. We are very pround of you as you demonstrated huge amounts of committment and tried your very best during this tricky week.

However, we are concerned that these tests do not always assess all of wht it is that make each of you special and unique.  The people who create these tests and score them do not know each of you special and unique. The People who create these thests and score them do not know each of you – the way your teachers do, the way I hope to and certainly not the way your families do.  They do not know that many of you speak two languges. They do not know that you can play a musical instrument or that you can dance or paint a picture.  They do not know that your friends count on you to be there for them or that your laughter can brigthen the dreariest day.  They do not know that you write poetry or songs, play or participate in sports, wonder about the future, or that sometimes you take care of your little brother or sister after school.  They do not know that you have travelled to a really neat place or that you know how to tell a great story or that you really love spending time with special family members and friends.  They do not know that you can be trustworthy, kind or thoughtful and that you try, everyday, to be your very best….the scores you get will tell you something, but they will not tell you everything. 

So enjoy your results and be very proud of these but remember there are many ways of being smart.”

To their surprise, the school has received an overwhelming response from all over the world