I can still remember picking up my exam results.

That feeling of nervous excitement, hoping all the hard work and revision had paid off.

Travelling to my school, a journey that seemed to take an age, and then slowly opening that envelope to find out my fate.

By the time you read this, hundreds of Suffolk students would have been taking these same steps as this week’s GCSE results are announced, following A-level students getting their grades seven days before.

Of course, some things are different. There is rightly a heavier emphasis on coursework and you can find out whether you have got into your chosen university digitally – and a few hours before opening the physical envelope.

But the emotions are very similar. I witnessed A-level students picking up their results last week and there was the poignant array of tears, laughter, relief and joy.

One look at the local media still shows the importance of seeing students literally jumping for joy in the aftermath.

I would like to congratulate every single A-level and GCSE student who is educated within the Unity Schools Partnership.

It is also a time to pay tribute to all our staff teams who made such impressive results possible and the role played, away from the classroom, by families and entire school communities.

It really is a collective, partnership-working at its best, and I am sure the results are testimony to the hard work put in by so many.

When results don’t go the way you want, it can seem like the end of the world.

But last week I witnessed our skilled and caring staff spend time with one or two students who perhaps didn’t get the grades they needed.

It can be a time of disappointment, but we all know that you often learn the most from such adversities and an exam result on any given day shouldn’t define your future.

After some richly deserved time off, and as soon as the GCSE results are published this week, thoughts quickly turn to a new school term.

Where does the time go?

At the Unity Schools Partnership, we get ready to welcome two new member schools from Felixstowe and plan for the brand new Sir Bobby Robson School In Ipswich, which opens in 12 months time.

Among our existing schools, we welcome new headteachers, cut the ribbon on new buildings and so much more.

Time never stands still in education and it shouldn’t.

The start of a new school year is always an exciting, and busy, period but it is always a time that I really look forward to.

We will continue developing opportunities and learning and sharing ideas and resources -both between our member schools and away from the trust – with the overarching aim of providing the best possible education to all.