A-Level Results Day: The kids don't care how we did in our exams

It's A-level results day here in the UK, which means that up and down the country 17 and 18 year olds will be finding out what grades they received in their exams. They'll be thinking about their next steps; whether it's University, college, work, an apprenticeship or something else.

It's usually on this day every year you see posts on social media just like this:

Jeremy Clarkson aside, most people choose to share the stories of their exam results days to reassure young people who might be feeling anxious or perhaps might not have received the results they want, or aren't sure where to go from here.

But, the kids don't care.

Today all they care about is themselves.

This moment.

That piece of paper.

And rightly so. Young people aren't thinking about what their life is going to be like in 15 or 16 years time. Would 17 year old you have believed that in 16 years time you'd have the role you are in now, the life you have now? My guess would be probably not...

If I think back to my exam results day, all I could think about was 'have I done well enough to get into University?'. I didn't give a single thought to what my life would look like 16 years into the future, or 3 years into the future for that matter. Whether I would have completed my studies, what job I would be doing, or where I would be living. All that mattered to me in that moment was that piece of paper.

I knew I'd not done brilliantly. I knew my A-levels were just a stepping stone to get me into a University I had fallen in love with to study a subject I was equally passionate about and seemed for the most part to be suited to. After 2 years of struggling through my chosen A-level subjects off I went to London College of Communication, University of the Arts London where I suddenly became a great student because I was studying a subject I loved (let's not talk about year 3 dissertations though..)

On that day, when I had that envelope in my hand, before I'd ripped it open to read the C and D on the page, I would not have listened to anybody waiting to tell me 'Oh I don't even have any A-levels and I am doing fine'. I simply did not care because it wasn't going to help me in that moment.

So what words of wisdom can we pass on or what can we do for our young people today that might actually help?

Celebrate their wins and achievements

The last 2 years have been TOUGH. The jump from GCSE to A-level is hard and the pressure that has been put on them into the run up to their exam by themselves and their teachers would have been immense. Regardless of the result, CELEBRATE THEM because they have just achieved something amazing. Imagine you'd run a marathon for the first time with zero training and you'd come last - I don't know about you but I would still be celebrating crossing the finishing line.

There are options if things didn't go to plan

If you're a parent, guardian, aunt, uncle or family member, educate yourself about the options there are for any young people who didn't receive the result they wanted. Chances are they can still do the thing they want, they might just have to find another route. This great article highlights some of the options available to all young people today.

What they choose right now does not define the rest of their life!

It's not all about Oxford and Cambridge

In fact, it's not all about University. I have MANY friends who have studied at the likes of Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and I also have many friends who have taken alternative approaches to education like apprenticeships, jumping straight into work, studying abroad or have completed other qualifications.

We took the routes that suited us, the way we learn (I did an FDA because I am TERRIBLE at exams), what our goals and ambitions are and appreciated and supported each other in those choices as friends (And yes, we are still a close group of friends now, with babies, careers and we still get drunk in our friends mums living room as 30 somethings...) - let's give the same level of support as adults to our young people.

Regardless of what they choose today, life will happen, plans will change, goals change and that is TOTALLY okay.

What advice would have helped you on your results day? (The kids don't care.. but I want to know!) Feel free to share your perspectives in the comments.