Sam Downie, 17, is hoping to head to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
By Kayleigh Harvey
BBC Scotland
Most people never forget the build-up on exam results day but not everyone’s journey to the exam room is the same.
As thousands of young people find out their results, BBC Scotland spoke to three teenagers who prepared for their exams under unusual conditions.
‘I sat my Higher English exam in Turkey, then set a British record’
Sam Downie, 17, from Portobello in Edinburgh, was born with a rare spinal condition but took to swimming from a young age.
He’s been competing since he was eight and is now a prime candidate for Team GB in next year’s Paralympic Games.
Sam was in the middle of his exams in May when the world championships were held in Berlin.
“I sat two exams at school, then left to for a training camp in Turkey where I had to sit my higher English,” he said.
The teenager’s team manager had to train to be an invigilator in order for Sam to be able to sit his exam abroad and still compete.
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Sam Downie competing in the IDM World Swimming Championships in Berlin
Sam said: “My team manager had to take the paper in a locked bag in their hand luggage and keep it in a safe and check it each day to make sure no-one had access to it.
“I had to sit the exam at same time as everyone else in my year so we couldn’t give each other the questions. The team manager had to sit in a meeting room with me to make sure I wasn’t doing anything I shouldn’t be.”
Sam’s friends thought he was lucky be sitting his exams away from school but he didn’t feel that way.
“I’d rather have done it in a normal classroom where it wasn’t as warm and there’s a bit of noise going on,” he said.
“I was in an empty meeting room, alone, in complete silence. But it’s what I needed to do to get everything done.”
Sam’s hard work paid off because after leaving his training camp in Turkey he went on to set a new British record in the 200m backstroke for his category, picking up a Bronze medal at the IDM World Swimming Championships in Berlin, before coming back to Scotland to sit his Higher human biology exam the next day.
His focus is now very much on his swimming, with hopes of making the Paris 2024 Games if he can meet the qualification time. He is still looking towards his long-term future though, and knows his exams will help him plan for a career outside the pool.
Sam said: “I’ve kind of accepted these exams aren’t going to be what other people might want, but for me there’s other routes.
“I am looking at college courses in health and fitness that could potentially act as a stepping stone into university. But for now my priority is finding something that works around swimming.”
“I balance caring for my older brother around studying for my exams”
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Ailsa Law, 15, is a young carer for her brother and hopes to be a graphic designer
For some teens studying at home during exam time doesn’t mean it’s a simple task.
Ailsa Law, 15, from Helensburgh, is a young carer and takes on the task of helping her family care for her older brother Euan, who has learning difficulties and suffers from epilepsy.
During exam leave Ailsa didn’t have her usual early morning school alarm call but she did have other responsibilities to contend with before starting her revision.
“I’d usually wake up and make sure Euan had his medication by 9am,” she said.
“Then I’d get him settled, pop on the TV and help him play with his cars so he is nice and relaxed.
“I’d then help my mum with bits around the house and then I’d get into my studying.”
Ailsa said she tried to find time ton take her brother out for walks.
“He’s really athletic and likes being outdoors and playing with his remote-control cars,” she said.
Keeping her brother safe can come at the cost of spending time with her friends.
Ailsa attends regular activity sessions with Helensburgh and Lomond Young Carers where she can get some respite and meet up with peers who take on similar roles at home.
She said: “It helps me a lot because you get to know there are other people going through the same things and that it’s not all that bad. I love Euan to bits but it can sometimes feel like a lot.”
Ailsa is hopeful of getting some good grades when her National 5 results come through.
She plans on taking five Highers when the new term starts and hopes to pursue a career in graphic design when she leaves school.
‘I got stuck in the North Pole and sat my first exam 10 days later’
Isla Fosbury, 16, spent more than two weeks in Greenland ahead of her exams
Not all exam journeys can be totally mapped out though.
Isla Fosbury, 16, from Arbroath, said ‘yes’ to a once in a lifetime trip to head to Greenland for two weeks with the Polar Academy, which gives opportunities to vulnerable young people.
But an unexpected storm left her team stranded for eight extra days meaning she had to do some last-minute revision on the Arctic coast.
Isla was one of 20 pupils selected to take part in the North Pole research expedition. Before embarking on the journey she had almost a year of training to prepare her for the cold temperatures and heavy equipment.
“We had pull our own 45kg sleds a couple of kilometres every day,” she said.
“What made it interesting was that a lot of the original routes that have been used for years couldn’t be used because of climate change.
“We were meant to go over a river that was meant to be completely flat but it had already thawed out so we had to go a completely different way, which meant pulling these sleds ups a massive steep hill harnessed to each other.”
Isla’s team were there to take DNA samples testing for signs of life in water as part of an Oxbridge science experiment.
They were sent to the east coast of Greenland where no data has ever been recorded before.
Each day involved setting up camp and cutting blocks of snow to melt for water and make a wall for a toilet.
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Isla Fosbury [right] with her friends setting up camp with the Polar Academy in Greenland
Isla and her team faced temperatures as low as -16C while studying in the Arctic. They’d form groups to revise and would boil snow for hot water bottles in a bid to keep warm at night.
She wasn’t initially sure about taking part in the Arctic mission as she suffered from anxiety. However a push from her family and teachers convinced her it was the right move.
“It’s changed the way I think,” she said.
“I did struggle a lot with my mental health before but now I feel I’ve changed.
“It did add a little something, not just to my exam experience or my high school experience, but my life really,” Isla concluded.
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Isla, 16, says the Polar Academy experience has ‘changed her life’
Isla is hopeful of some good results in her National 5s this year and plans to focus on science subjects in her Highers, when school returns, with the hope of becoming a doctor one day.
If you need help or advice, to guide you through your options, after receiving your exam results, the Skills Development Scotland Helpline goes live on Tuesday 8 August: The SDS Results Helpline number is 0808 100 8000.
