Never Too Late

Hi-de-hi Peeps!

I love the title of this post because it can be applied to literally every aspect of life 🙂 but today I want to talk about learning.

There are lots of students and parents freaking out around now as they’ve just had to pick their GCSE or A-level options, 6th Form College or University.

These are important decisions and may well have been thought about and hoped for a long time, but even if you’re sure of your choices things can change.

My daughter’s options were locked in in January so that sometime this month the school should have figured out the timetable and if they have enough interest to run each course.

We are all told “choose by this date” and that the future ‘depends’ on it. While that’s a good attitude to have, nothing is unchangeable. If a teenager changes their mind, don’t panic. There are plenty of facts to find out and ways around things:

• Firstly, they can look for a new course in the same school or a different one.
• The school policy might be that after lock-in day they don’t change until the September- that just means they appear at a class or two and then go and tell their coordinator they don’t like it and ask to swap courses.
• You can also have a backup. There may be similar courses with different entry requirements in case the grades achieved don’t fit the first course.
• If they’ve not decided yet, it’s not too late to apply. There’s always clearance places after they get exam results.
• There are re-sits. If they don’t get the grades they want to progress, or they want to change courses after the first term then the student can always re-take a GCSE or A-level year to get what they need.
• Never too late: On my uni course there were several mature students who had raised families first, in fact, our oldest class member was a lady of 70-something who had been a watercolour painter for years and just did the degree for fun! God bless her!
• Circumstances change. Some students get halfway through a course and change direction, or even all the way through a course. I wanted to teach, did the degree and teaching certificate and then never got a full-time teaching job, but I’m happy, have learned other things along the way and used my skills for things I ever thought about.

 

As a side note to this, if there is no clear direction to guide what options a person takes, that’s ok. A lot of people don’t know at 14, 16 or even 40. Try to take something that has multiple uses such as English, Maths or Business Studies and things you enjoy; if you’re passionate about something it could become your life’s work.

Also, don’t just go to uni for the sake of it. While it’s a great life experience, it also comes with £45k of debt. I loved it and, like I said, you can always change courses, but you have to decide if it’s worth it for you.

So don’t panic, don’t give up and don’t think you have no options; there’s always another opportunity!

Have a lovely day peeps!

Anna x

 

 

 

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