Given that it’s that time of year again with folks getting their GCSE results, I thought I’d share my own experiences of it back from ummmm 1990/1ish.
I really feel for you if you didn’t get what you wanted but there is hope…
I took 9 GCSEs and only got C grades or above in 4 subjects, I just couldn’t get it together in terms of revision and doing the hard graft. For me, exams were not great. I now know at 51 that ADHD was very much holding me back from doing better.
I became a trainee accountant at 16 and struggled and after a summer stint Ieft and retook my GCSEs on sixth form. I got another 3 C’s and above getting 7 at grade C or above in total.
Still not amazing.
As an adult I’ve gone on to join the Royal Air Force, travel to far flung places, make lots of friends and acquaintances and then leave for a second life in management in around the NHS, specifically primary care.
As an adult I’ve taken many courses and passed exams including a diploma in primary care management, City & Guilds in immediate and emergency care, A level psychology at night school and various other courses.
My GCSE results didn’t shape me, what I did after them did. I never could have predicted where I’d get to in life and in those early days of clearly not working or trying hard enough things didn’t look as good as I had potential for them to look. I am in a senior leadership role and I’m less qualified academically as the majority of people around me, no degrees for me.
If you’re reading this because you’re wondering what next after underwhelming GCSE results please don’t worry.
What you do next will shape you more than what is written in paper about you at age 15/16. Go get it, whatever ‘that’ is.
Leave a Reply