Published on 12, July, 2020
Just curious about people who slipped through the net, so to speak. How did you cope with school? I developed quite good ways of hiding how much i struggled. It helped that i was in most of the bottom sets, as no one really cared back then. I was in the top set for biology, i excelled in that area. Nothing else part from sport. I hated going in every day, i was like a zombie....i literally cant remember my last year in school. Ive blanked it out completely.
I had no idea I was autistic in the 60s and 70s when I was at school.
I somehow passed the 11+ in a place where only 15% of people did.
I was near the bottom of the class at a Selective Grammar School with pretensions (which I hated) for three years.
Somehow, I got my %*&$ together, and finally passed six O Levels and a CSE, which allowed me to scrape into the 6th form, where I got cancer.
I declined to take a year off to fight it, which the school offered.
I spent half my life commuting from a small town to the nearby city (Oxford) for treatment, and predictably blew my A Levels (unimpressive grades).
Declined again to retake the second year of sixth (46 years later, I've no idea why - teachers, parents etc all begged me to).
Had an offer of an RAF Short Service Commisson withdrawn because of the cancer, and had missed the application windows for University (but didn't have the grades to get in anywhere decent, anyway).
Still declined to retake the second year of sixth. Pig headed.
Somehow got onto a BA (Hons) degree course college in the Midlands. Think it was the only place that would take me, at that stage.
Pretty much every day, I commuted back to Oxford for X-Ray Therapy and other treatment. Almost permanently sick.
College said 'this is stupid, defer a year' but I was still pig-headed. Nope, not a clue.
Missed Freshers, permananly ill, didn't actually get to know anyone until year 2. Somehow ended up with a mediocre degree (which has never been any use to me since) and went into journalism.
Well, you did ask ... (!)