Failure in GCSE

18, female, no GCSEs as I got U grades in maths, science and English along with the rest of the GCSEs I took, I failed everything. I have entry level 3 English and maths and currently in college doing level 1 English and maths, these are functional skills (I'm in England).

I'm a complete failure and have achieved nothing, I'm 18 for God's sake and I have done so badly I feel like I will be on minimum wage in crap jobs I hate for the rest of my life.

I have anemia so always tired and have no energy, I suffer from severe depression and anxiety, never was at school because of this. I want a career as a vet care assistant or animal care assistant but terrified I'll never be able to do it. I fail at everything I try.

I have done volunteer work with animals before in different places/different roles and I have entry level 3 animal care certificate but have no idea what my options are without any good qualifications.

18, female, no GCSEs as I got U grades in maths, science and English along with the rest of the GCSEs I took, I failed everything. I have entry level 3 English and maths and currently in college doing level 1 English and maths, these are functional skills (I'm in England).

I'm a complete failure and have achieved nothing, I'm 18 for God's sake and I have done so badly I feel like I will be on minimum wage in crap jobs I hate for the rest of my life.

I have anemia so always tired and have no energy, I suffer from severe depression and anxiety, never was at school because of this. I want a career as a vet care assistant or animal care assistant but terrified I'll never be able to do it. I fail at everything I try.

I have done volunteer work with animals before in different places/different roles and I have entry level 3 animal care certificate but have no idea what my options are without any good qualifications.

I'm sorry to hear that that is your outlook, however to use your own point against you; you are only 18. I know the world expects you to be a proper adult and have everything sorted out by now but that isn't the reality for a very large number of people. At 18 you still have about 50 years of working life in front of you, so there is every motivation for you to turn things around. Any ages by which you're 'supposed' to have reached certain milestones are completely arbitrary and don't take into account people's personal circumstances; you mention that you have health problems so it's perfectly reasonable that things may take a little longer for you, and that's okay. Hey, sometimes I feel like a failure because I'm 21 and I can't drive yet, but I'm sure you'd agree that that's a ridiculous mindset! The same goes for you; the age by which you reach certain points does not define you! One of my friends had to sit GCSE maths 13 times before she passed, but she got there eventually and none of her employers have ever asked or cared if it was from her first attempt.


Have you been receiving medical attention for this? I absolutely sympathise with your health problems and I fully appreciate that none of these conditions are something that can be alleviated with a magic pill, however I would really recommend speaking to someone about how much impact this is having over your life. Working as a vet care assistant is liable to be a stressful job that requires you to be on your feet a lot, so the first priority would be to ensure that this doesn't make your current conditions any worse.


From what I've seen, most jobs with animals care a whole lot more about your prior experience than your GCSEs. After all, it's more important to them that you aren't scared of dogs and don't mind cleaning up cat sick than whether or not you can explain the formation of an ox-bow lake or write about what you like to do at the weekend in French. Voluntary work is therefore an excellent in road; and myself and a few people I know have been offered jobs at farms, kennels and veterinary practices after spending some time doing unpaid work experience.

If you are still finding that your lack of GCSEs is restrictive, then could I suggest retaking some subjects (specifically maths and English as these are most important and because you will probably find these reasonably straightforward after completing your functional skills qualifications). You could potentially do this while still working, for example through distance learning or evening classes.

Best of luck for whatever you choose to do