With A-Level results day on 17th August and GCSE results day on 24th August 2023, Leeds locals reflect on their schooldays and exams.
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00:00 Well, I had a very happy time at school, despite me being punished more than I think any other boy in the school.
00:08 It was an all-boys school.
00:10 And I got to a grammar school and I was thrown out when I was 15.
00:16 So I went to Eton.
00:21 Cleck Eton.
00:22 I was more than happy with my school days, despite me getting asked to leave.
00:27 I think the final straw was there was a statue outside the headmaster's study of Thomas Aquinas.
00:34 And he had a prayer book in one hand and I put a cheese and tomato sandwich in the other.
00:40 We all went to the same school and we did our A-levels.
00:42 Well, we didn't do our A-levels, but it was in 2020.
00:45 So our experience is a little bit different to what's going to be happening on results day.
00:50 We didn't really know what was going to happen.
00:51 There was a lot of uncertainty, but I guess that's kind of the same this year.
00:54 Like people are anxious waiting on results.
00:58 Personally, my results day didn't really go to plan.
01:03 We all had a bit of a stress.
01:06 But I suppose the main thing is, I would say, like everything works out in the end.
01:10 My school days, that's very, very long time ago.
01:14 Nearly 55 years ago, that was in India.
01:19 And I went to high school, higher education, then to university before I moved here.
01:26 And when you're waiting for your results, very nervous what's going to happen.
01:32 But if you know what you've done, how good you've been through the exams,
01:39 I think you know the results before they come.
01:41 When I was doing my A-levels, I got really disenchanted with higher education.
01:49 And I just scraped the A-level results that I needed to get into university to do dentistry, actually.
01:58 So I'm a retired dentist.
02:00 I took two years off before I actually went to uni.
02:04 And by that time, I was ready then to re-energise myself and go through university degree.
02:11 So I would recommend anybody that feels in that situation to actually take a year out
02:17 if they're feeling a bit disenchanted with the educational process,
02:21 because it's a long old time, really, sometimes.
02:24 I feel really excited about exams.
02:27 I actually find this to be quite enjoyable, particularly in terms of, you know,
02:30 just putting in the effort, there is a lot of stress.
02:33 But then the results that you get at the end tend to be quite rewarding.
02:37 I understand some results may be not what you expect.
02:40 Some may be beyond what you expect.
02:42 But whatever it is, I still think there's a reason for why they are that way.
02:45 And also, you know, there's so much to your life.
02:48 Your lifespan is going to be pretty long.
02:50 So, you know, it's not going to make or break your career.
02:52 You can always figure something out as long as you're, you know, pursuing a happiness.
02:56 I think that's all that really matters, whether you're an A-level student, GCSE student,
02:59 a university student, or even having a career change.
03:02 That's all that matters, is just happiness.