Calm..

It was with some trepidation that Ben and I set off to Stamford to get his A Level results, as the exams hadn't gone as well as he would have liked and he had resigned himself to relatively low grades. 

He looked a little puzzled when he opened the results envelope and then his face lit up as he'd done considerably better than he expected and was only one grade off his personal target. His tutor was there and was really pleased with his achievement, as was the head of A levels. He even got filmed chatting to his tutor, for potential use in college publicity.

So, immense relief and happiness all round. College hasn't been an easy ride for him, but he's persisted and worked really hard for these exams, so I'm just so glad that his effort was finally rewarded. We had a pub lunch to celebrate, and then this evening he was out with friends celebrating again.  

Now, he just needs to decide his next step. He didn't apply for university, although this may be a future option now that he has decent grades. But in the meantime, he's probably going to start an Open University Maths degree and get some work experience alongside it.