Going against the grain here, but as a child who consistently got very high marks and exam grades and whose parents never rewarded me for that in any way, I quite often felt pretty much like all the effort I’d put in on my schoolwork went completely unappreciated and ignored. I didn’t want presents and fanfares every time or anything like that, but the occasional treat in recognition of my achievements would have been really nice.
My parents very much ignored my results or only minimally praised them, on the grounds that many posters give above on this thread; and I ended up feeling like I’d always done what was expected of me at school and home, but that that was never acknowledged or rewarded in any way (including in case siblings felt left out, or I “started to expect it”).
Especially when other kids received presents for money for GCSE results etc., this left me feeling a lasting sense of my parents never having been pleased with me or proud of my achievements. It’s not helped my relationship in later life with them at all. And I think this often smacks of a kind of intellectual reverse-snobbery that’s particularly common in British society, which thinks academic achievements should be ignored in case a child gets “above themselves” or “big-headed”, in ways people would never apply to, for example, musical or sporting successes.
DH and I don’t go overboard, but we make sure DD gets some kind of small gift or treat and a card for doing well, to acknowledge that it does require effort and work and commitment, yes, even from a naturally bright child, and that her academic successes are valued as much as any other aspect of life.