OK, so you didn’t get the results you wanted in your A Levels. It’s really not the end of the world.
Tomorrow you will have to move on to plan B, but here’s some ideas for what you can do now.
Get on the phone
Clearing is a great opportunity. In one tense morning scouring the web and newspapers and making endless phone calls, your career path can suddenly jump into the totally unexpected.
My sister wanted to something involving science and a white coat at university but didn’t get the grades; she got as far down as ‘A’ on the list of clearing subjects and now she’s an accountant earning multiple times what her poor hack brother does and loving every second.
Listen to the Smiths
Wallowing is not healthy, but you’re a hormone-afflicted teenager so you probably wallow a bit anyway. Give yourself five minutes, watch this, and then go get a cup of tea.
Look on the bright side
In a few years’ time, it won’t matter in the slightest how you got on in your A Levels. If you still need the results, you can always re-sit. It’ll be easier next time round too.
Literally thousands of really successful people through the ages didn’t flourish academically or go to university, or dropped out – Alan Sugar, Kanye West, Coco Chanel, Bill Gates, Thomas Edison, F Scott Fitzgerald, the list goes on...
You didn’t want that debt anyway.
Go out and party
You may not feel like it, but it’s the party everyone’s been looking forward to for weeks and you won’t want to miss out on those last sixth form memories.
You’ll be surprised by how supportive your mates are, and you can always go where the music is loud if you want to avoid those awkward ‘how did you get on’ questions.
Just don’t drown your sorrows too much.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here