Resilience

Results day – an anxious time for most, a scary time for some. This blog has already put together a go-to guide for those looking to prepare for results day and the potential of going through the Clearing process. So, for those of you looking to create your Plan B – please see our previous post. This time however, I want to discuss resilience within academic settings, and address those dreading lower results than what they had hoped for.

Resilience is defined as “the ability or capacity to withstand or recover quickly from difficult circumstances”. This is a vital life skill, for life consistently throws its challenges our way. Resilience has gotten many of you students through the exam period, and many of you may be looking to resilience to manage unexpected challenges come results day. Some of you may not be happy with your results – and that is OK.

No one can expect perfect results. It is highly unlikely that across your academic career you will always hit or surpass your targets. Some of us are not built for university, and I know of many who have gone on to great personal and financial success outside of higher education. Ultimately, it is up to you whether this is a path that you wish to tread, and no one can walk it for you. If university is something you aspire to, and you find those results currently do not allow you to go further on your chosen path, it can be devastating. However, it is not the end of the world.

Our last blog entry noted the hundreds of thousands of students who get lower grades than planned and had to adapt. There are hundreds of thousands more students who will have to resit or adjust their timelines to acquire new qualifications. A study by the Centre for Education Research and Policy found that 43% of AQA exams in 2019 were resits (https://greenesoxford.com/news/2023/05/19/how-do-universities-regard-a-level-retakes/). Resits are common, and delaying a year will do you no harm. Many may bluster at this point, “easy for you to say!”. Well, I was one of those students. I did not achieve desired results and spent a year resitting the course I went on to study at university. I then went on to achieve a first-class honour degree and came out as one of the best in my cohort. Today I am a lecturer and world expert in my field, I am a twice published author including with a journal that has only a 4% acceptance rate for academic submissions, and I continue to do what I love.

So, there really is no cause for alarm. Re-apply your efforts, and the future remains bright! This is where tutoring comes in. For me, I truly began to excel at university where I had lecturers during one-on-one meetings show me how to enhance my work. Here at Cardiff & Vale Tutoring, we can provide a range of subject experts to supercharge your learning and accelerate your success. A tutor can turn any resit mountain into a resit breeze, and we here at Cardiff & Value can bring a subject master to any student. Contact us today!

This Blog was Written By Dr Daniel Chesse

Do take a look at earlier blogs:

Building Resilence – Cardiff Vale Tutors

What Is Wellbeing? – Cardiff Vale Tutors

How A Private Tutor Helps Support Mental Health – Cardiff Vale Tutors