A level results

For all of you waiting for those dreaded results tomorrow, good luck. The fact that I'm leaving the country today for a week-long holiday is not a reflection of my confidence in your abilities. And I'm not running scared, oh no...

Most of you will get the grades you deserve, and most of you will get the grades you need. Even if some people don't get the results they deserve/hope for/need, it's not the end of the world. There's plenty of good advice in the broadsheet newspapers about what to do if things don't go well tomorrow.

Most importantly, whatever you do, don't look at the Daily Mail or you'll get upset. Every year they try to rubbish students' performances at A levels, claiming that the exams are easier, the students are dumber and the teachers are lazier. The Daily Mail once supported Oswald Moseley's fascists and longs for a return of the "glory days" of the Empire, when men were men and women stayed at home and did the washing. So ignore whatever it says!

For some sense on A levels, how they've changed and why some people think they're actually more demanding than the old A levels that my generation and older took, you could do worse than look here at The Guardian's A level special.

In the mean time, don't get too worried and enjoy the rest of the summer holiday.