GCSE results do not define your intelligence, worth or aptitude for a subject. All they do is measure how well you did in that set of exams compared with everyone else.
For too long my concern with the upcoming results day hasn't been about whether I get into college but rather that I don't want to feel like I'm stupid and don't want my confidence in my own ability to be knocked.
But in reality, GCSE results are what they are. Sure someone who is more intelligent may not need to do so much work to get higher grades but that doesn't mean that you aren't intelligent because you didn't achieve higher grades.
There is not one person in this country who can get all A*s without work. This is simply because there are other factors other than intelligence.
Even if you did the maximum amount of work that you could possibly do and you're highly intelligent- you could just have a bad day on the day of the exam. You could have spent too much time revising things that didn't come up and not enough revising those that did.
I know people who are fiercely intelligent but got no gcses. I know people who aren't the brightest but got all good gcses. It's important to remember that you shouldn't rely on exam grades to verify your own intelligence and your own ability. At the end of the day, it's your actions that do this and it's your actions that are infinitely more valuable than exam results.
I should make this clear : of course you should try and do well on your exams so you can get into the colleges and universities that you want to go to. All I'm saying is that if you don't get what you want, don't let it make you believe that you aren't valuable, don't let it define your abilities.