The Good Parent’s Guide to Results Day

We are now at the business end of the Summer holidays for anyone who sat A Levels and GCSEs this year. I thought now would be an opportune moment to share what wisdom I have gleaned as a veteran teacher and the parent of three students, now through university but who have all waited for results day, seemingly with the sword of Damocles over their heads. So here is my guide to negotiating the potentially choppy waters of the next two weeks, if you are a parent of students.

Don't post your pride online:  If all goes to plan, the results are fabulous and the pathway to the next stage is straight and clear, be rightly proud. Relax! Enjoy! You have done a great job as a parent and your child is secure in the knowledge that they have smashed it. I don't know a parent who isn't proud of their child and who wants to broadcast that to the world and believe me, there are endless opportunities to do it in the world of social media. My advice is don't. These are their results not yours. Tell them you're proud of them; phone up Great Aunt Ethel or your boss or the football coach; buy balloons and fill the house with them but have a heart and look out for your friends, neighbours and strangers whose children may be disappointed. Frankly you'll be doing little more than rubbing their noses in it by clicking share. Why do you need to post it online anyway? Switch off the echo chamber of social media and bond with your child instead. They are the ones who need to know how proud you are of them and how much you love them. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Trust me on this one.