GettyTwo years ago, I stood in a school hall in Sunderland on GCSE results day and watched the pride and surprise in the faces of teenagers as the envelopes were opened.
Even after years of covering results days, I was emotional to see a set of outstanding results in a school facing so many challenges. Almost half of the school's pupils receive free school meals, meaning their parents are on low incomes. In fact, the results in the ex-mining town of Hetton-le-Hole were as strong as the most affluent parts of southern England.
