AUGUST was the month of exam results. Some of our kids celebrated while others felt deflated when they didn't get the results they wanted.
Society places so much emphasis on qualifications in terms of future success. As a result, our kids feel pressure to perform from schools, from teachers, from parents: if they don't hit the mark, they are left feeling like failures.
I've been a parent now for almost 17 years. I went to school myself and I have taught classes both at post-primary and university level. In that time, I have borne witness to the fact that not everyone is academically gifted. And that is perfectly OK. It does not for one second mean that those who are not academically gifted, those who are not A* students and those who struggle with exams are stupid or worthless. A mark on a sheet of paper does not measure a person's talent.
I know students who sail through their school year with no hassle and get an A* without so much as breaking a sweat. I know students who work twice as hard as anyone else in the class and can communicate in words that they understand the curriculum inside and out, yet struggle to get a D grade when they have to write it down on paper. I know students who go to pieces in exams and forget everything that they have ever learned.
I was not an academically gifted student who found everything really easy. Quite the opposite, in fact. I had to repeat my Maths GCSE three times until I got it. It was torturous. I also struggled through my A-Levels. I did a journalism qualification, started working the day I graduated and got a degree when I was 40.
I definitely didn't go about things in the conventional way or with a whole host of fantastic 'starred' qualifications. But I got there in the end and have spent many years doing a job I love.
Last week, I got to speak to a lot of different people who managed to make brilliant successes of themselves despite disappointing exam results, or indeed having no qualifications at all.
I spoke to Kieran Kennedy who had some sage advice for those feeling down about their grades. Kieran is managing director of the multi-million pound company O'Neill's Irish International Sportswear. The father-of-three left school with no qualifications and now heads up the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland. He says hard work and dedication get you far in life, not exam results.
"For me qualifications were not the be all and end all of everything," he told me.
"Hard work, commitment and common sense are the most important things to put you a successful path. There are other routes to success – there are different journeys."
I spoke to TV presenters, politicians, business owners, millionaires and authors, all of whom were disappointed in their exam results at one stage. All of them thought it was the end of the world at the time but realised, looking back, that it was the catalyst to drive them towards what they really wanted to do in life.
For any children who are feeling a little bit deflated as the summer ends, have heart. There are so many opportunities out there to help you find the path to what you really want to do in life. Our schools can help guide your next steps regardless of your results, and our colleges of further education are absolutely phenomenal centres of success that will nurture your talents.
Never think the life and career you want is impossible. You are capable of such great things. You are not defined my a letter on a piece of paper. Go out there and get what you want in life. Believe in yourself, and believe you can do it.
