Exam results are out

and I had a phone call almost as soon as the results went on line yesterday morning.

"Cat! I did it! I did it!" the voice at the other end told me. There were tears too. Then his mother came on line and told me, "Yes, he's done it and, after everything, we are so proud of him."

And they should be. This boy hasn't managed any "merits" or "perfect scores". He won't be heading off to Government House to get anything from the Governor. He just worked hard, harder than most, and he has his Year 12 Certificate despite extended stays in hospital and much more. 

I took over from where the Senior Cat left off and gave him some help with his study skills and his research project. I don't feel as if I did a lot because he was highly motivated to succeed. He wanted to feel he could succeed at something. His ATAR score will get him into the course of his choice. If he can complete that then he can get the sort of job where he can work from home in a role that is suited to his severe physical limitations but still provide him with an intellectual challenge.

From now on he will get some mentoring from other students I know. He probably won't need me again. He's focussed and looking to the future.

I wondered how the others I know had scored and there were a couple of emails, a quick whisper in the supermarket where one of them is working until Christmas. There are two more emails this morning. 

These were motivated students, sufficiently motivated to seek help. They have all done well enough to get into at least one course of their choosing, if not their first choice. All of them faced problems of one sort or another, one the loss of a parent, another their parents separating far from amicably, illness, the loss of their beloved dog, a serious injury at football. They all just needed a "bit extra". 

I came across one of them putting books away in the library. It has been her volunteer job for several years now. She wants to be a librarian. We chatted quietly for a moment and she told me, "It's going to be weird not coming in here with the others. The library staff have been great. They sort of kept us going with smiles and asking how things were and making sure there were places for us to work."

No, they didn't get the "brilliant" results splashed all over the paper this morning but they did get outstanding results in their own way. Their families are proud of them - and they should be proud of themselves.