Darryl in the Guardian – Do Exam Results Really Matter?

As hundreds of thousands of young people collect GCSE results, the Guardian asked me to write a short piece on my experience and whether it really matters… 

Judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree and it’ll spend its whole life thinking its stupid – so the adage goes. Today, schools of fish will receive judgement on their tree climbing abilities and it is on us in the real world to direct them to the sea.

Why is it, with the widely accepted notion that your life and successes do not hinge on childhood test results, that we continue to lose our heads each August?

I missed out on my desired GCSE results because I spent most of my revision time practising at the school radio station. I have no English qualifications and dropped out of a collage that reluctantly accepted me to pursue a radio opportunity – now I am a presenter and writer, writing for newspapers and magazines. Once I had found my passion, pursuing it was not work – it was a pleasure. I talked and wrote and talked and wrote until somebody finally paid me to do it.

Once the graduating fish of 2016 find their sea – they will soon learn that you don’t need anybody’s permission to be successful – it comes from your passion, commitment and ambition. They will learn, too, that every day is a job interview – with choices and chances all around them. It’s there for the taking, for those who open their eyes to it.

August 25, 2016  |  No Comments