Gordon being rewarded for giving it a go...

Well, that’s the last time I’ll share the nail-biting, stomach-churning few hours that go hand-in-hand with waiting for postie to arrive with an envelope containing a set of fifth-year Highers results! Hooray! Gordon hadn’t signed up for the SQA’s text or email service for result delivery: “It’s not the same getting a text, I want to open an envelope to see what I’ve got..” Our post is never with us before midday and it was a long wait till 1.30pm yesterday!! Thankfully, tension turned to elation within a few moments of the envelope being carefully (and painfully slowly) opened and, again, I had the privilege of being there to share in that ‘Woohoo!’ moment with one of my kids.  

Aw, I’m so proud of my big wee boy; he had the unenviable job of following on behind a big sister and a big brother who were both really high achievers at school and I just love that he’s never been fazed by that. Where Gemma and Ross were hoping for ‘A’'s, Gordon was hoping for ‘pass’es, and pass he did – in very good style! It’s always been really important to me and Alex that we instil a sense of ‘be your own person’ in our kids and we’ve always encouraged them to take opportunities and go for things - and not give up - even if that means sometimes having to swim against the tide. At the start of last year, Gordon was advised not to take Higher English as the school thought he might fail.  Now, I may be getting cynical in my old age, but I think this was down to that ridiculous thing of the schools wanting to make sure they produce enough ‘good’ results to place them high up in the performance tables. Grrrrrr!!  Gordon wasn’t bothered about achieving an ‘A’ grade, or even a ‘B’ – he just wanted to pass and get Higher English under his belt. He doesn’t have a clue what he wants to do when he leaves school and he just thought it might be useful to have English in his tool kit! So, he made an appointment to see the head of the English department and, at the ensuing meeting, explained that he would be grateful for the opportunity to give the Higher a go.  

Now, almost a year later, he has a piece of paper that confirms he’s passed – with a mixture of an 'A', 'B'’s and a 'C' – all five of his Highers. And, one of the ‘B’s was for English! Superb! 

Sometimes folk’ll tell you that you can’t, or shouldn’t, try something you really want to have a go at. Ocht, don’t listen. Go for it! I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but I really do think that it’s better to try to do something and fail, than to try to do nothing and succeed! And, as Gordon will testify, the trying’s all the sweeter when it results in a pass!