It’s results day.

Last week, A’ Level results were published. This week it’s the students who have been waiting for their GCSE and TEC results to be released, who are either feeling amazing, or alternatively they are upset and getting somewhat stressed about their grades. Congratulations to those who are super happy.

This short blog is for the parents of teens who aren’t quite as happy as they had hoped. You will undoubtedly be worried about them, concerned for them if they are going to have to reconsider their choices for the coming academic year. It’s ok. It’ll all be alright. Buy a celebration cake and congratulate them for having gotten through and are still standing upright.

Looking Back

I can’t remember my O’ Level and Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) results coming out. It’s too long ago! I’m not sure my parents, if I could ask them, would even remember what I studied. Maybe mum would remember I took CSE Geography, because her cousin lived in New Zealand and he sent me the most beautiful book about the country. Otherwise, parents are often somewhat oblivious, or were. That said, nowadays parents do get more involved, because we carry out assessments, such as the Morrisby Online Career Assessment (MO), in order to help students to make good choices for the next level of studies and training. I’ll talk more about how the MO can help in a later blog.

I do still have my CSE and O’ Level certificates though. I look at them now and wonder how I did so many subjects all at the same time. My grades ranged from good, to ok, to not that great. I have to confess, in fact, that I think I fell asleep in my Biology CSE. It’s no wonder. I’m sure I was exhausted!

My work with teenage students

I sometimes feel a bit like that (exhausted) when I talk to school students, in schools and privately, about how many subjects they are studying. Goodness me! So many of them do 3 sciences, AND 2 maths subjects, maybe both English Language AND Literature! Then they start talking about things that weren’t even a thing in my day; Media, Textiles, Drama… Wow! How do they do it?

I guess it is what they are dedicating their entire waking hours to, from Monday to Friday. But when they then start to tell me about their commitments to things like music, or sport, or drama, I find myself wondering what time they get to bed at night. If they tell me they’re playing soccer for the under 16s local team, then I’m all the more in awe of them. It’s definitely worthy of note that when there is sports training and matches, or play rehearsals and a production coming up, that a student has a lot going on. They need a medal, or at the very least a big pat on the back, if they are managing so many things all at once. Think about it, if your friend was juggling loads of balls in such a way, I imagine you would be singing their praises, so don’t forget to be that way about all that studying and extra-curricular activities your child has been doing.

GCSE and TEC Results Day Mindset for Parents

As a Professional Member of the CDI in the UK, I am mindful that thousands of teenagers are receiving their GCSE and TEC course results today. I’m also aware of the household and how your teenager’s results can impact how everyone is feeling; either happy and relieved, or sad and anxious.

My message for parents of GCSE/TEC students is that I really hope your young one is happy with their results. But if there is a grade, or more than one of their grades, that they are disappointed with, just offer reassurance (cake too, maybe). Ask them if they did wonder how that subject exam went and there’s every chance that they’ll say it wasn’t the best. So then it’s fair enough. Sometimes the questions you’re hoping for just don’t come up, or the content was so massive that it was hard to get through it all. In all likelihood disappointing grades will be for those subjects they were all along wondering why on earth they chose them in the first place. Tell them what’s great is that they don’t have to do a “feared” subject again. It’s all done and behind them. That’s cause of cake and celebration, if ever there was one!

Bear in mind, as I mentioned earlier, that it could be that your child could have been juggling a lot for the past year or more. If they have been in sports training, or have been chosen to be in the school orchestra, they will be rushing between so many activities during the school day, as well, maybe, as in the evenings and at the weekend. You’ll know what they love most, to what extent they dedicate time to one activity/subject over another. So if you think back it may well be that their school grades are unsurprising; that they dedicated their time to the things they love most, at it may simply be that it isn’t Maths. There might be a bit of them that does want to study A’ Level Economics, or to study Advanced Maths, but that they actually prefer Media, or Sports Sciences. It’s their study. It’s their journey. If you allow them to follow their passions, they’ll be happy and when they’re happy they will be fine.

Meanwhile, there are so many training or study paths they can take next and if it’s not going to be possible for them to study the subjects they were hoping to, as a result of a grade, it’s not the end of the world. There’s such great support in schools now, and through independent career coaches too, so if it’s hard to work out what’s possible, then ask for help for your child.

So many people think that they’re going to do something in particular when they’re 15-16. Then their path takes them in a different direction, maybe due to exam results not being optimal for that particular route. It may even be that they do in fact revert back to plan A later in life. But what’s important now is that they know they are more than just what their exam results say about them. I’m honestly not sure my O’ Level and CSE results bear much relevance to what I went on to do in my first career, nor in what I do now. As for what I’m going to do next…?

If you are really concerned then loving care is everything. There have been lots of articles popping up and radio discussions offering advice to parents. And ask for help from your child’s school and/or a professional career coach because you cannot be expected to be able to navigate all of the options by yourself.

So congratulations to all students who successfully completed 2 years of GCSE/TEC studies! Tell your child to focus forward now, rather than back. Then the task is to make their “What’s Next?” choices wisely based on what they love, what they’re good at and maybe, if appropriate, subjects that support them in gaining access to training or courses of interest to them.

Now go eat cake and celebrate your loved one.