FALKLANDS war hero Simon Weston was guest speaker at Casterton School's speech day on Saturday.

The ex-Welsh guardsman, who was badly injured and burned during the bombing of the Sir Galahad during the Falklands conflict in 1982, presented

prizes and talked to the school's speech day audience.

During his address Mr Weston admitted that after sustaining 49 per cent burns and enduring 75 major operations, he suffered depression and despair, feeling that he no longer had any skills to offer on his return to civilian life.

But he also spoke of his return to a more positive outlook and the strong determination which led to him founding the Weston Spirit, a charity for disadvantaged young people.

Mr Weston said he realised many young people's lives were blighted by missed opportunities for education and personal development, and he wanted to help redress the balance.

Addressing the parents, staff and particularly pupils at the school, he encouraged them to take every opportunity to give to their community and to build for their lives ahead.

"You are our future and you are needed to create the future for coming generations," he said.

Head teacher, Tony Thomas, spoke of the concerns raised by parents about the new AS levels, and described the processes involved.

While advocating a return to the old terminal examination system and an "abandonment of modules", Mr Thomas said he believed that once "media

hype" had died down, the system would be not as bad as it seemed.