Why you shouldn't be worried if you didn't get your grades

Exam results are not the be all and end all.

There is more to education than exam results, and parents must not let these shatter the dreams and hopes of their children. Darren Staples / REUTERS

Dear parents, some of you may be overwhelmed with happiness in this season of exam results. Some of you, however, may be overcome with bitterness that things did not quite turn out as planned. Please try not to despair too much.

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The UAE prides itself in the rich diversity of curricula on offer in schools across the country, taught in several languages. Students here gain so much through exposure to other cultures, environments, traditions and values, enriching their knowledge and cognitive intuition. Be it A-levels, International Baccalaureate, French Baccalaureate or any other, there is much more than exam results to consider, and though making the cut for university does reflect admirable efforts on the part of students who wish to follow the path to higher education, there are multitudes of other options out there.

Some may seek a more hands-on experience, while others may consider the costs associated with higher education as reasons not to apply. Those on a quest for a more creative challenge, may see things differently. Parents worry about their children’s grades and may, unwittingly, pass on that anxiety. Throughout their formative years, students are pressured to achieve good grades and into believing they represent the be all and end all.

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Bad A-levels results are certainly not indicative of failure, nor of the lack of prospective - and even successful - future.

Take Richard Branson, for example, who notoriously left school at 16 and didn't even sit his A-levels. He found his calling in music and paved his own way to success after setting up a record company which would eventually be the cornerstone of Virgin Group, which now comprises over 400 companies. Oh, he also owns his own island. Not bad, eh?

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