As GCSE and A Level results loom for our Fifth and Sixth Form pupils, a mixture of emotions will inevitably arise.
A
sense of growing tension is natural, so it’s worth keeping busy the day before
- plan a cinema trip; catch up with friends; go to the gym - as this helps
distract us from unhelpful thinking patterns such as catastrophizing (‘It will
be a complete disaster if I don’t get the grades’) and fortune-telling
(‘Everyone will think I’m a complete failure if I don’t get As’).
On
the big day, hopefully tension will be replaced by elation, and relief will
take over as those well-earned grades have been achieved. However, a feeling of anti-climax is more
common than you might think. Despite
achieving the required grades, a pupil found it difficult not to dwell on the
one result that was not what had been hoped for or expected by the pupil and
parents alike. Another pupil was way off his predicted grades, and had to
completely reconsider his options. In both these cases, a sense of perspective
was required and both pupils were lucky to have friends and family, and support
from school staff, who helped them to see that one set of results was not going
to stop them achieving their goals, even if these had to be redefined – and
they didn’t. So it’s worth forearming
yourself against unhelpful thinking (and unhelpful people) and having a clear,
reasoned plan of action in place before the day arrives, just in case of
disappointment.
On a
final note, before diving into your social media be sensitive to your own state
of mind, and that of your friends (remember, others may also be nursing their
own private disappointments), and take a moment to stop, pause and acknowledge
your wider strengths and achievements – whatever the outcome of the exams.
These results do not define you, and while there may be a need to get creative
and consider other routes, they should not deter you from your personal dreams
and goals.
Hannah Ryan - Head of Support for Learning
Hannah Ryan - Head of Support for Learning
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