i know it's not the done thing

[Nimble2014]

to boast about your children's achievements, but I'm so very proud of my daughter. She has always achieved average marks, but this year she told me she would do better. Despite her teachers' predictictions, she did do better, and I'm chuffed to bits.
I don't have anyone to boast to, and just really, really want someone to tell me that she's done well. I'm so very,very proud ofher.
I get I 'm being self indulgent, but goddamit, Ive gotno-one to congratulate me/my daughter.
I'm talikng about gcse's by the way

[angeldiver]

Well done your dd, boast away. And you are right to be proud of her, she pulled it out of the bag when it really mattered.

Onwards and upwards

[HeyBells]

Boast away. Sometimes there's no where else to. Well done your DD for challenging herself and exceeding expectations. Brilliant.

[Mner]

Congrats to your DD

[PurpleDaisies]

Excellent! It's always great to see hard work rewarded with food results. What's she going to do next?

[PurpleDaisies]

Food results?!! I guess you could get a cake to celebrate?

[Poundpup]

Congrats to your DD, Nimble. Feel free to have a boast. Not everyone has people in the real world that they can speak to about how well their child has done.



P.S. I am proud of my little man as well, people from our ends are not supposed to do well. Well he did and I am glad that his efforts have been rewarded.

[ShanghaiDiva]

Congratulations to your daughter - boast away and celebrate her success!

[EllenJanethickerknickers]

I boast away here and to a lesser extent on FB as I'm divorced and my parents are both dead. It's nice to have someone cheer for you!

It sounds like your DD deservedly did well by putting in the effort. Well done! You'll get further in this life by working hard than just by being clever.

[raspberryrippleicecream]

Well done to your DD. Enjoy

[noblegiraffe]

Well done your DD, lovely to hear of hard work paying off.

Her teachers will be delighted with her too.

[SallyMcgally]

Well done to your DD. It's lovely to see how proud you are. It would be a sad world if that couldn't be shared and celebrated.

[Leeds2]

Well Done to your daughter. Hope you and she have a lovely celebratory evening.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Very well done to your dd :)

[Wriggle45]

How lovely..... Hope she soaks up every bit of your pride in her.

[Icouldbeknitting]

Congratulations, you must feel on top of the world.

[fascicle]

I think that is a real (and very mature) achievement - to challenge and exceed the expectations of others and to put in the work to achieve something more. Many congratulations to your daughter.

[GetMeOut]

She has done very well and she should feel very proud of her achievements ( as should you ). I prefer a real boast as opposed to a stealth boast

[eyebrowsonfleek]

Congratulations you must be proud.

[Nimble2014]

I'm sorry I never replied to your lovely answers - I've just re- read this and it's brought tears to my eyes. It's not that I don't have friends I could boast to, just that their children might not have achieved the levels my daughter did. And I would hate to take away from their child's achievement. (Don't get me wrong - it wasn't straight A's by any stretch) Just better than we expected.
She is doing 4 really demanding A levels, and I'm still immensely proud of her. I worry though ( she was self harming) that the pressure is too much.
How do I get the balance right?

[bojorojo]

IT is perfectly acceptable to do 3 A levels these days. Therefore don't push four if it is too much. Also if it wasn't all A*s and As at GCSE and she had to work really hard to get them, A levels will be hard work so just keep supporting her and start talking about what she might like to do when she leaves school. If if is university, start looking at Open Day dates for universities this summer and courses she may be interested in. Ditto if it is the local college, or an apprenticeship.

My DD got excellent GCSEs but made herself ill over A levels so underachieved. It worked out OK in the end, but it was difficult at the time. It has made no difference to her career at all, so keep a level head, help her through any difficulties and be realistic.

[Crumbs1]

Bojorojo is right. Universities prefer three good As to four weaker ones. Unless she is looking to really competitive courses ( assume not if not got straight As ) then she might want to focus on doing really well,at the three best subjects.

[Nimble2014]

Yes - she has been talking about dropping the fourth subject, but the school is trying to 'encourage' her to stick with all four. I'm fine with her dropping one, and concentrating on the core subjects. The school is going to call me to discuss this, and I wasn't sure what I was going to say.
Thanks for the advice about further education. I had in idea that we could start looking so early.
I do try to be a sounding board for her, but when she's stressed its very hard to get her to see reason

[bojorojo]

Lots of universities have open days in June and y12 is when you start to look because young people apply from October in Y13. The actual format of the open days may not be on the university web sites yet, but you normally have to book your place, so it is worth thinking about courses and where they are offered now so you have a short list to book and visit. There are also more open days in September.

I would argue very strongly that 3 is fine. Lots of schools are only doing 3 now, especially if they are linear format with all the exams in y13. Therefore look at what she may want to study and make sure she continues the correct A levels to make a strong application. Three higher grade A levels is much better than four lower grade ones. (No university wants four anyway although a few may if she is doing Maths and Further Maths). With AS levels in y12, some universities wanted four, but this is being phased out. Your school may still think four subjects in Y12 is vital, but it's not. Her health is more important. Has she any idea what she might like to do after school?

[bojorojo]

I meant to add that if you can point out to the school that the university courses she likes require three A levels and are not bothered with four in Y12, then you are in a strong position to argue that she should reduce to three now. Just make sure it is the correct three!