Much was made in the press last week from the arrival of A-level exam results last weeks into the waiting hands of young men and women of the country. (Congratulations, BTW, to Smudge and Evie for doing so well; we have the cleverest commenters.) With the papers full of celebrating 18-year-olds, I was glad to see that the naughty pupils who hadn’t studied so hard weren’t forgotten, either.
On Radio 1, the DJ spent a good five minutes explaining how, if you didn’t get the marks you wanted, it didn’t really matter in the long run, to finish of with the invitation to please call the BBC helpline if you were at all worried. “I know you still have to break the news to your parents. It’s scary, yeah, but ring the helpline, and we’ll figure out a way to tell them. You don’t have to do it alone.”
I pictured a girl with an envelope half-crumpled in her hand, wipe at her tears with a sleeve. “Yeah, right,” she says bitterly to the radio. “I don’t have to do it alone, sure. You’ll come to my house, tell my parents I’m not getting into Oxford, and bend over the back of the sofa next to me for that belt whipping.”
She doesn’t believe it would help at all, and still she punches in the number of the helpline into her mobile, and waits holding her tearful breath. Maybe they do have a magic word that stops parents from reaching for the belt. Maybe…
Glad to hear Smudge and Evie did well!
Yay, well done Evie!
I know one girl who lied to her parents about her results, because she was afraid to tell them she didn’t get into university. Like they’re not going to notice, come September.
Congratulations on your good results Evie and Smudge – you both deserve an extra special “good girl” spanking – implement of your choice of course!!
Awww, I was soooooo delighted that Smudge and Evie did so well. Big hugs and congratulations to both of you.
Somehow that A-Level results morning, my usual thoughts of crying girls getting bad results and ending up in trouble were replaced by exam nerves, waiting for a certain set of results to appear on my text messages
And, when you’re 40, try explaining to people at work how you happen to know someone who’s just got her A Level results and why you’re so pleased! I suddenly acquired a younger cousin 😉
Congratulations, Smudge and Evie! Woohoo!!
Well Abel, here in the states we have Kissing Cousins, but somehow Spanking Cousins strikes my fancy a bit more.
Abel: That’s funny! Lots of 40ish people in offices are happy to share their daughter’s results with anyone who will listen (“gee that’s great..she sounds really smart, but what a shame I have a conference call right now”)…though they might not be so ready to hear you drone on about a distant cousin…
Congratulations Smudge and Evie…it must be such a relief to be able to move on with the next stage of your life, and I say that with meaning having a final year student in the house myself!