A-Level results day: My memories!

Thousands of students picked up their A-level results yesterday and I was out visiting schools in King's Lynn to talk to a few students about their results and what they were going to do at university.

Here is a short video by Daniel Vipond who was shadowing me yesterday:

When I got back to the office and started writing up my stories for the next day's paper, the conversation between reporters soon turned to our memories of opening our envelopes. Here is mine:
“I can remember the walk into school to pick up my results like it was yesterday. I wasn’t particularly nervous - just excited about getting my results and starting a new chapter in my life. I also wasn’t worrying about grades or UCAS points, because there was nothing I could do about them and I wasn’t going to university, so I was more relaxed than everyone else.
“It was more a case of me wanting to get my envelope, rip it open, read my results, say goodbye to my school friends and get back to work. However,  when I opened my results and saw how well I had done, I completely changed. I was hugging friends, fellow students and teachers and didn’t want to leave. I was ringing any member of my family who would pick up the phone to me to tell them the good news. Looking back, people must’ve thought I had gone crazy.
“My advice for students opening their results today is to try and stay as calm as possible. There isn’t anything you can do about the results today - you’ve already put in countless hours of hard work and dedication to your chosen subjects.
“If you’ve not done as well as you’d hoped, take a deep breath, and think about your next steps. Try talking to one of your teachers and get their advice. If, however, you’ve done really well, I can recommend doing what I did and go to McDonalds with a few friends to enjoy a celebratory McFlurry!”