Dear Mr Sewell

You will never believe how hard I've been working this past year (well, maybe you will). That's not my excuse for not writing to you. There is no concrete reason why I haven't written to you before now except that I wasn't sure what I would say. But now I think I have quite a lot to say!

I know you will enjoy reading this letter as much as I will enjoy writing it - even more reason for me to make it as long as possible.

Of course I have been working very hard lately, trying to achieve the best grades possible. If Lorna hasn't already told you, I'm hoping to go to Edinburgh University in September to study English Literature. I'll be there for four years, if all goes well, and I'll have a Masters by the end of it. After that, I'm afraid I still have no idea what I want to do. I need to obtain at least three grade Bs at my A Levels - I'm not worried about achieving this in English and Psychology, but Maths needs a bit of work. I've had 3 Maths exams in the last week, and I'm confident that they are at least at grade B standard. My other exams are spread out over the next three or four weeks, and I'm revising for them the best I can.

There's been a new influence in my life for the past eight months, and that's my boyfriend Paul. You'd be very pleased to know how well he looks after me. He goes to Newcastle College to do Applied Business and Law and he works at ASDA with my Mam. She's given him her approval so it's all good! And he hasn't affected my college work in the slightest, so don't you worry about that. I seem to have had a positive influence on his college work though. He's sitting his AS Level year for the second time this year, because he wasn't good at sticking in last year. But even his family have agreed that since I came along he's concentrated a lot more on his studies. He's completed four A grade standard courseworks and got 100% in his Law exam last January.

He's worried about what will happen when I move to Edinburgh, but we're going to try our best to see each other as often as possible.

I've started to learn how to drive. I've had four hours of practice so far, and I think I'm doing OK, although my steering is edgy and I keep mounting the kerb at corners!

I'm very excited about going to Edinburgh but I'll miss my family, and Paul, and I'm sad about leaving college. The college has been a friend to me for as long as I've been here. The lecturers are lovely people. They don't mind that I obsessively clean the whiteboard every day! The library has been like a sanctuary for peace, because it'st he only quiet place in the college!

You should tell Mr Wallace that he should be jealous - John Grundy bowed down to me on account of my exam results. And tell him the sad news that there won't be another Grundy's Wonders because the TV company have discontinued it. John is currently working on a new project, however. So all is not lost.

I hope that you are well, and that you are content with life. Have the new pupils calmed down yet? I hope that you are still enjoying being a teacher, because you are a credit to the school. I think that you deserve to be recognised as such, however, that's not how it all works, is it? It would make me happy to know that you are happy too, because you were a constant friend to me at Brinkburn even when others weren't. I still think about you; I haven't forgotten about you, despite my silence.

Send my regards to Mr Wallace and Miss Withycombe, and to your wife. I wish you good fortune and happiness,

Love from Kayleigh.