Throughout this year we at Kedleston Group are celebrating our 13^th birthday. Over our 13 years, across our 12 (soon to be 13 provisions) we have seen success after success achieved by the young people we support in our residential and day schools as well as children’s homes.

Those successes have taken lots of different forms, but they all focus on one thing; the young person achieving a goal - or taking a step closer to achieving a goal - that’s important to them.

This year, 2019, has been one of the most successful yet in terms of young people doing just that.

While we await the exam results which will land later this month for our young people who have diligently studied for, and sat, a range of GCSEs and other examinations, we already know the destinations they will head for on the next stage of their journey.

For many of our young people the physical academic qualifications are, of course, an important part of their success but are just one piece of their overall success. They  are part of what helps them achieve the ability to take that next step on their journey and move towards the futures they want for themselves.

Across our day schools we are proud and delighted to say that 100% of young people leaving this year will be going on to further education, training or employment. In fact, 80% of our leavers will be moving on to mainstream college education, confirmed apprenticeships, jobs and military training. A fifth will go on to specialised higher education.

For many of our young people, their move to a Kedleston school was the first time they had been in formal education in months, sometimes years. Many thought education was not for them, that they could not achieve. Some had even been explicitly told they would never achieve a single qualification, that their futures were not bright.

These destinations show otherwise. They show the world that these are bright, capable and confident young people who can succeed both within school and in the wider world outside. These are young people employers want to employ or train and that colleges and universities want to teach. Who believe they are worth investing in, as we did and do.

We start from a position of high expectations for our young people - it is a key part of our values – and we wish each and every one of our leavers the very best for their future successes and achievements. We look forward to hearing about them!