Don't Panic: Private Tuition in York with Nathanael Young

Which do you think in? A-G or 9-1?

ICYMI: 24 hours later, and we're still trying to figure out if they did well, or not so well...

Well done to everyone getting their GCSE results today!

Five Things All Young People (and adults) Should Know About GCSEs

1. It is not possible for everyone to succeed in their GCSEs. The exam results are referenced against earlier cohorts, meaning that around 30% will get failing results every year. This is built into the system.

2. You can take GCSEs at any age. Schools require you to take them at age 15/16 because of the league tables. Research shows that those who are older (autumn born) do better on average than those who are younger (summer born) when they take them. Those whose lives have been easier tend to do better in exams. It is not a level playing field.

3. Learning does not 'only count' if you have a GCSE in it. If you are a passionate musician or linguist or artist, this will be much more important in your life than whether you have a GCSE in music or French or art. Don't let an exam result convince you that you are no good at something.

4. GCSEs can be a stepping stone to college but they aren't the only way. It is rare for a college to require more than five or six. Some colleges will take you with no GCSEs. Doing nine or eleven is something some schools insist on but it isn't essential.

5. A GCSE is a measure of how you performed in a particular set of tests at a particular moment in your life. It is not a measure of your worth nor a reflection of your future potential.

Please share if you know a teenager who needs to hear this.

Good luck to everyone receiving their A-level results today!

Congratulations to everyone receiving their GCSE results today, including my eldest for his Religious Studies!

Don't forget that while GCSE results can undoubtedly be useful and important, they certainly are not the be all and end all.

Take time to celebrate your successes wherever you've made them; and be considerate that what may seem easy to some is a hard earned achievement to others.

With GCSE right around the corner, we hope this illustration helps you better understand the grading system.

🎨Illustration by Josephine Scales

I love getting feedback from pupils and their parents.

Congratulations to everyone receiving their results today! I hope you got what you feel you deserve, even if it's not what you hoped.
If not, don't stress too much; it's far from the end of the world. I didn't quite make what I wanted (but it was what I deserved), but I went on to university almost ten years later.

There's lots of different paths through life; and your results today haven't completely closed any of them to you.

Whatever your outcome; make sure to enjoy the rest of the holidays!

🧩 PUZZLE TIME 🧩

Over on my wife's bakery page we've just posed a puzzle. Take a look at The Mayflower, and keep reading for the solution!

The main answer is that the best value is the 11" giant cookie, and the worst is the three 6" cookies.
And for the bonus, the best is the two 8", but the three 6" are still the worst.

Did you get it right?

Mmmmm, Pi!

And on a Tuesday, too! 😁

Learn more: https://ifls.online/3s99TzR