Ask Sam letter

Hi,

Thank you for your letter. It sounds like you’re struggling with your feelings about your exam results and that they are making you worried about your future.

It’s natural to be disappointed when you don’t get the results you wanted. But try to remember that the pressure of studying and then taking the exam can sometimes affect how you do on the day. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t good enough, it just might mean that you were put off by the stress of it all.

If chemistry is something that you want to do, or need to do, then I would really encourage you not to be put off by getting a B. The people around you are right when they said that is a good result! If you have a goal in mind and you know what you need to do to get there, then go for it!

At each stage during your education you will have support around you. Studying can be hard work, but finding something hard doesn’t mean you aren’t up to it, it’s just part of the effort you have to put in to reach your goals. If you need help, like everyone does at some stage, you will have your tutors or lecturers or even your friends to help you through. Take things one step at a time and don’t be too hard on yourself. A grade doesn’t reflect your commitment or your will to reach your goals. It’s just a record of what happened on the day you took the test, not what you are capable of.

Have you seen the Explore page on Exam results? There are also a few threads on the School/College message boards about GCSE results at the moment that you might find it useful to read. If you do need to talk about this more you are more than welcome to come online or give one of our counselors a ring on 0800 1111.

Take care,

Sam