Do the kids have the same desire to succeed? No! They all want to be halfbaked Big Brother “Celebs” and footballers’ wives!

Also I CURSE nasty Red Ken for giving the yukky younger generation who mostly pile on wailing, screaming making all sorts of kerfuffle to cram the place up for walking-distance journeys on our public buses… give free travel to a more deserving sector of the community Nasty Red Ken. Not brattish schoolkids!

Have a VERY HAPPY FESTIVETIDE

and an ENTERTAINING NEW YEAR!!

Interesting to note the strong parental role you play in your sons’ education today. They do need to have that discipline if they want to succeed, which is why I know they will do brilliantly.

My problem was that I went to a poor school, the real blame was with me is that I wasn’t interested either and That I had no idea how to manage my study or the massive amount of information required at ‘A’ level. I’d stayed on in sixth form because I was told to “There’s nothing for you outside”. Having scraped 4 ‘O’ levels I really ought not to have stayed on to struggle with ‘A’ levels – I would have been much better off being sent out to learn a trade or joining the army. The teachers conspired to give my parents decent school reports because they were short of pupils and needed me to keep their departments open. Such a waste of my time. My parents had no idea what ‘O’ or ‘A’ levels were and astonishingly they were convinced – until I told then recently aged 40 – that I’d passed (I failed all of my ‘A’levels.) such was the deception.

I’ve been guilt ridden ever since and have studied something or other ever since. I went on to take an ONC in construction, I then took an ‘A’ level in law (aged 30) and then followed that after 4 years of correspondence study with my Chartered Institute of Transport Diploma (the best thing I learned from this was how to touch-type. Not particularly useful study) I also took guitar gradings (7) and my karate black belt. It helps so much to really enjoy what you are learning about.

But back to school – It didn’t help that my school was like a Borstal (4 convicted murderers in the time I was there)but my paradigm was limited in a fairly grotty area and I really didn’t know that my experience was abnormal. I went on a biology field trip aged 18 years and it was there that I mixed with students from a top comprehensive and was completely humiliated by the experience – rather too late.

If my boys ever struggle I will see it as a sign that I need to help them find the right direction for their aptitude. I’d rather they be good plumbers than bad doctors.

Goodness, that was cathartic. Thank you, Ellee.

You’re right to worry. Not because you NEED to worry, but because it’s your JOB to worry. I think your boys will be fine and this is partly because you have your foot on the gas – the other reason is that they are obviously bright chaps. Don’t burn yourself out about it and try not to lose sleep. You’re doing your best and that’s all that can be asked of you.

My education went badly wrong at a crucial stage. Remember this though – it can always be put right later in life and a career can be forged well into a person’s thirties nowadays. I know a doctor who took his ‘A’ levels in his twenties.

It becomes much more complicated when they have children of their own and they are in the doldrums -that’s a terrible trap. Otherwise things are easy to put right so long as there’s Mum and Dad to support them when they find they need to go back to school.