20/08/2026
Good luck to everyone getting their GCSE results today. 🤞
Results day feels absolutely massive when you’re 16.
I remember getting mine and, to put it politely, they were a bit of a car crash. 😂
I did better in some than others, but I certainly didn’t get the set of results I’d been told I needed. At the time, it genuinely felt like I’d messed up my chances in life before I’d even really started.
We were given a big “Record of Achievement” folder to keep all our certificates in and told to look after it because employers would want to see it.
I’m 40 now.
Not a single employer has ever asked to see it. 😂
I was also expected at 16 to know what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
At 40, I don’t think life really works like that.
I’ve had several completely different careers over the years, not because I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do, but because what I wanted from work changed as I got older.
I’ve been a Reporting Analyst, Software Developer, Prison Officer, Tram Driver and now I run my own business.
Each one suited me and my life at the time.
None of them were part of some grand career plan I had when I was 16.
We were also told that if we didn’t get C grades or above, getting a decent job would be difficult.
That certainly made disappointing results feel like a much bigger deal than they really were.
So if you’re opening that envelope today and you’ve smashed it — congratulations. Be proud of yourself. 👏
And if you haven’t got the results you hoped for, that’s okay too.
Your results might influence what your next step looks like, but they do not decide the rest of your life.
You do not need to have everything figured out at 16.
Life changes. You change. Your priorities change.
Today’s results do not define your ability to succeed in life. ❤️