Results Day 2023!

“Regrets…I’ve had a few…” goes the classic Frank Sinatra song, My Way, and yet while I’ve had them at the time, I now see clearly that things not going my way is always preparing me for something in my future.  I always reflect at this time of year when A Level and GCSE results come out, on how NOT getting the results I’d wanted, while seemingly awful at the time, actually set me up for the rest of my life. 

The disappointment, and yes, shame, among other feelings I felt at the time have been great motivators.  They gave me a relentless drive to get things done, at the highest standard possible in the time available, that is characteristic of how I still operate.  Who would have thought that someone who was disappointed with their own results at the time could have been a Head of a school?  In school, my enthusiasm and determination to help every student perform at their best, my insistence they see being resilient as positive and character forming, came from this experience.  And now, my work on myself and my drive to serve others to be at their best is rooted in this and all the other experiences, including (and perhaps especially) the disappointments, that have shaped me to be who I am, doing what I’m doing today. 

So, good luck to all those nervous students (and their families) out there!  I really hope your hard work has paid off and you get what you want.  And remember, if it doesn’t go the way you hoped, please ignore the media hype about the injustices of the system and don’t become a victim.  Use the insights from this experience in a positive way to shape your future.  Look for the learning, seize it, and go again.  You might not see it for many, many years until you look back.  Still get up, dust yourself off and look for the opportunities that ARE out there for you.  In disappointments there are always opportunities.  Forging your path in a different direction to the one you’d expected at the time is just….different to your expectations at the time, and perhaps the expectations of others around you.  Different isn’t better or worse, it’s the path you need to forge at that particular time and will lead to a rich and fulfilling life.  You have choices, and there is a big choice in what you decide to do moving forwards and, most importantly, how you do it.

Good luck everyone!  Remember that tomorrow is always the first day of the rest of your life and exciting times lie ahead for all of you!  Seize the day!