This School Sent An 11-Year-Old Autistic Boy A Heartwarming Letter After He Failed His Exams

    "Wow. Do they really think that about me? I feel amazing."

    Victoria Sanusi
    by Victoria Sanusi

    BuzzFeed News Reporter

    This is 39-year-old Gail Twist and her 11-year-old son Ben. They live in St Helens, Merseyside.

    Gail Twist

    Ben is autistic and attends Lansbury Bridge School. His mum says he's a hardworking student.

    Gail Twist

    Twist told BuzzFeed News that when her son failed his end of year exams the school sent him a letter that moved her to tears.

    Twitter: gailtwist / Via Twitter: @gailtwist

    In it, the headteacher Mrs Clarkson wrote: "A very important piece of information I want you to understand is that these tests only measure a little bit of you and your abilities. They are important and you have done so well but Ben Twist is made up of many other skills and talents that we at Lansbury Bridge see and measure in other ways."

    Some of Ben's strengths she highlighted was his growing independence, kindness, and the ability to make and keep friends. The headteacher ended her letter with the words, 'Well done Ben, we are very proud of you" and a smiley face.

    Twist said she had been moved by the fact someone had taken the time to personally write to her son "and say thank you and to consider him as a whole person and celebrate all the other great skills that he has".

    And like the school, Ben's mum said that regardless of the results she is proud of her son for sitting the exams. "When I looked at his actual scores he achieved what we thought he would. The fact he did it is amazing," she said.

    Twist spent up to 18 months trying to get Ben into Lansbury Bridge, rated 'good' by Ofsted, and she said it was worth it: "The school has unlocked how he learns and it's [a] very personalised and very visual style of learning, which meant he could sit the test without worrying or panicking, which is amazing."

    When the letter was read to Ben, he said: "Wow. Do they really think that about me? I feel amazing."

    Gail Twist

    Twist thought the letter was so fantastic she decided to share it on Twitter. She didn't expect it to receive more than 3,000 retweets and 6,000 likes.

    Gail Twist @gailtwist

    In tears. A letter to my 11 yr old autistic son from his school. "These tests only measure a little bit of you"

    Reply Retweet Favorite

    "My phone didn't stop with alerts. It's been on the TV in US and [in a] Portuguese newspaper," Twist added.

    "With everything that's going on in the world especially the UK, it's nice to have something that reminds us about being human and... I'm glad I can contribute to that."

    And many people have sent Ben supportive messages since hearing about his story.

    Stacey Dooley @StaceyDooley

    ❤️...Ben sounds a dream and the headteacher, an extraordinarily supportive encourager! #whatapairofWINNERS 👯 https://t.co/2WhY1VViYd

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    Marcus Anthony @taharka32

    @gailtwist good job Ben!!!! Awesome!!!!!?

    Reply Retweet Favorite

    ❤️

    Gethin Jones @GethincJones

    I just love this. Well done Ben.. @gailtwist https://t.co/zdmQVjqkZ2

    Reply Retweet Favorite

    Ms Clarkson told BuzzFeed News "I wanted Ben to know how proud we are of him as he has worked so hard and made great progress this year. We are a special school and it so important to us to measure progress in many different ways as I have outlined in my letter."