21/08/2026
Results Day is done for another year, but seeing everyone go through it took me straight back to my own.
I didn’t get the grades I needed.
I didn’t get my university place.
And for a while, I thought that meant I’d failed.
But looking back now, I realise something:
I hadn’t failed. I’d just taken a different route.
I was diagnosed with dyslexia at 7, and learning never came easily.
My Biology teacher told me:
“You’ll never be clever enough to be a physio.”
I believed her.
After my A-level results, that belief felt like fact.
So I took another path.
I became a Healthcare Assistant working in operating theatres. Then a matron saw something in me I couldn’t yet see in myself and offered me the chance to study for a foundation degree.
That led to a role as a Physio Assistant, where an incredible team helped me realise I belonged.
Then one of my lecturers said:
“Emma, apply for a Physio degree.”
And suddenly, the dream I’d been told was impossible felt possible again.
I started my degree, threw myself into it and loved every second.
And eventually, the girl who had been told she wasn’t clever enough to become a physio graduated with First Class Honours.
So, if you’re looking at your results today thinking:
“I’ve let myself down.”
“I’ve let everyone else down.”
“What on earth am I going to do now?”
Please hear this from someone who has been there:
You have not failed.
There are so many roads that can lead to the same destination. And sometimes, the scenic route gives you things the shortest route never could.
It made me more resilient, more curious, more appreciative of opportunity — and, I believe, a better physiotherapist.
So don’t write the ending of your story today.
You have absolutely no idea where the next chapter might take you.
Keep going. Keep learning. Keep believing.
Sometimes the longest route turns out to be the most worthwhile one.
