DS is applying for a position in an old establishment organisation. This is very far from what we know as a family - if successful he will help them meet their quota for disadvantaged postcodes! Currently more than 50% of entrants are from public school.
Anyway, one of the questions asks him to list his greatest achievements and describe how he overcame difficulties and what he learnt from the experience.
He's 18 and doesn't have a long history to draw on but there are a couple from a hobby he's been fully committed to.
As a third, he wants to put down something about his GCSEs, which were OK, very good for him, but not amazing in the scheme of things (he got 2 points higher than the entry requirement of 7 Cs).
Anyway he wants to write about how he didn't enjoy school to begin with, found the courses challenging and had to overcome the fact that teachers had already formed an opinion of him from his early years at the school when he didn't work as hard as he should. How he eventually worked really hard and achieved what he knew he was capable of, far exceeding his predicted grades, even when others didn't believe in him and that he learned to give people a chance to prove themselves and to be willing change your view of them if they are prepared to work for it.
Does that seem OK, or does it start from a position which is too negative and suggest that he's not very bright as he had to work so hard for mediocre grades? He is bright, it just took too long a long time for teachers to realise that. He was one of those quiet well behaved boys who did just enough to keep out of trouble but never enough for anyone to see what he was capable of and IMO, because he didn't cause anyone any trouble, they didn't try very hard to find out. ( but that's another thread)