Tomorrow our eldest gets here GCSE results – and for the first time ALL of the subjects are graded by numbers not letters – so here are some related number facts for you!

• 1-9 is how the exams are now graded.  We’re optimistic for not too many lower ones, but so you have a comparison, an old school B is a 6, A is a 7, A* is an 8, and they’ve introduced a 9 which is nominally an A**
• 10 is the number of subjects the daughter has sat.
• 9 is the number of subjects she would like to have sat.  She really wanted to drop Spanish, but did too well in her mock. We bumped into some old friends on holiday whose eldest son also didn’t particularly enjoy his Spanish GCSE – although his tactic of just adding ‘O’ to the end of an English word to get the Spanish equivalent sounds like a top tip.
• 1 is the number of Bs I got at GCSE.  And it was in Chemistry.  No one ever asked what the 8As were in – just what that annoying B was!
• 0 is the number of GCSEs her Dad got.  This has not held him back – and he’s done brilliantly with his entrepreneurial spirit and hard work – but it’s been tricky, not for the daughter, but for other family members who argue ‘well, if Daddy / Uncle Mark hasn’t got any GCSEs, why do I need to bother?’
• 12 is the number of years she’s worked really hard at school.  Whilst there was loads of revision and working studiously over the GCSE years at school, she’s always been really dedicated.  You can guess who she takes after!?
• 25 is the kilograms of revision she took with us to Australia last Christmas as her mocks were just after we got back.
• 29 is the number of years since I got my results – and as a parent, the slightly nauseous feeling on the build up to results day is incredibly reminiscent of nearly 3 decades ago when I was waiting for mine.

Good luck to everyone waiting for their results tomorrow – and the associated parents.

GCSE results do not define you, they are a stepping stone to the next stage in life, and only really pathetic people are still bitter about their results when they’re in their mid 40s……..