Department For Education's Twitter Strategy Not Going Down Brilliantly

Wishing students good luck might not seem like a terribly controversial move, but apparently it is.

Matt Cardy / Getty Images

Students across the country got their GCSE results today, with the percentage of pupils achieving top grades falling for the second year in a row.

The Department for Education sent out an apparently innocuous Twitter message...

DfE @educationgovuk

Best of luck to everyone opening their exam results today.

06:41 AM - 22 Aug 2013

DfE

@educationgovuk

Best of luck to everyone opening their exam results today.

/ Via

Unfortunately, lots of people seem to have taken this the wrong way.

Vincent McAviney @VMcAVSKY

Response to @educationgovuk tweet wishing #GCSE students luck, like last week Sec. of State no where to be seen:

08:56 AM - 22 Aug 2013

Vincent McAviney

@VMcAVSKY

Response to @educationgovuk tweet wishing #GCSE students luck, like last week Sec. of State no where to be seen:

/ Via

Adam @phoebo1996

@educationgovuk hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha omg, good one.

10:51 AM - 22 Aug 2013

Adam

@phoebo1996

@educationgovuk hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha omg, good one.

/ Via

Simon @HungryHatter

@peter27afcb @educationgovuk Only the DfE could send a tweet wishing students the best of luck and make it feel like a terrible threat!

09:21 AM - 22 Aug 2013

Simon

@HungryHatter

@peter27afcb @educationgovuk Only the DfE could send a tweet wishing students the best of luck and make it feel like a terrible threat!

/ Via

As Sky News producer Vincent McAviney pointed out, part of this might be down to the mysterious lack of public statements or appearances from the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, on one of the most significant days of the year for education.

In case you can't remember what Michael Gove looks like, here is a helpful reminder