How did you do in school?

A really interesting thread to read!

I grew up in Thailand, which probably had a different system than most of us on this UK forum. I did well in academics until grade 10 where I found more interests outside school, like music and video game modding. GPA was around 3.3 to 3.6 then dropped to 2.2 during grade 10. I put effort only in classes that I know the purpose of learning it. And also zero effort on classes I hardly cared. I had no motivation in studying just to pass the exam without knowing the importance of the subject. The last 2 years of high school I went to USA and things were completely different.

School life overall was tricky though, I got bullied a lot, did not have much confidence, bullied others a bit. I think the reason I was a target might be the inability to look at someone in the eye, and being flinchy. Fighting off bullies got me in even more trouble as bullies tend to make better excuses while I had a hard time coming up with words. Teachers hardly cared about the situation, I got bullied by some teachers too. I had a hard time talking to my parents about school life and bullies, they only paid attention on academics

Sports & PE: I like endurance sports (which weren't in schools), basketball and pingpong. But team sports (yes, including basketball) are really hard for me, I struggling in communication and staying open for teammates to pass the ball. My experience could have been better if some teachers weren't bullying kids.

Growing up in a system where art in undervalued did hinder a lot of my expression and coping. People tend to view things as science vs. art, one or the other. So art & music classes in school has been a joke to me. I studied music outside of school around grade 9 and 10. And just re-learned drawing 15 years after high school graduation and opened another way to cope.

As a non-diagnosed 'neuro-divergent' boy with autism spectrum disorder, ACEs and high sensitivity (thus not always easy to deal with), the first and most formidable authority-figure abuser with whom I was terrifyingly trapped was my Grade 2 teacher, Mrs. Carol, in the early 1970s. Although I can’t recall her abuse against me in its entirety, I’ll nevertheless always remember how she had the immoral audacity — and especially the unethical confidence in avoiding any professional repercussions — to blatantly readily aim and fire her knee towards my groin, as I was backed up against the school hall wall. Fortunately, though, she missed her mark, instead hitting the top of my left leg. Though there were other terrible teachers, for me she was uniquely traumatizing, especially when she wore her dark sunglasses when dealing with me.

For other students back then and there, however, there was Mrs. Carol's sole Grade 2 counterpart, Mrs. Clemens — similarly abusive but with the additional bizarre, scary attribute of her eyes abruptly shifting side to side. Not surprising, the pair were quite friendly with each other. It was rumored the latter teacher had a heroin addiction, though I don’t recall hearing of any solid proof of that. I remember one fellow second-grader’s mother going door to door in my part of town seeking out any other case of a student who, like her son, had been assaulted by that teacher. I had not told anyone about my own ordeal with my (the other) Grade 2 teacher, and I just stood there silently as my astonished mother conversed with the woman.

As each grade passed, I increasingly noticed how all recipients of corporeal handling/abuse in my school were boys; and I had reasoned thus normalized to myself that it was because men can take care of themselves and boys are basically little men. Therefore, rather than consciously feel victimized, I felt some shame, however misplaced.

My school history is a very complicated mess.

First of all my parents were refugees with multiple mental health problems and they never learnt adequate English.  They had no idea how to register me with a school, so they pretended the problem (me) didn't exist.

I started school when neighbours became concerned why I was playing in a garden rather than being in school.  So I started a couple of months late.

My first school was a local sink school called Cowper street, it was awful, a mix of Victorian red brick buildings and temporary wooden huts. My knowledge of spoken English was negligible and I made no friends, I was subject to corporal punishment daily or even twice a day.  My attendance was around 50%.

When I was eight I was sent to my first special school, this was a school for children with language difficulties, the staff had no idea what to do with me and the other children just shunned me.  I was there for maybe two months.

My third school was called Lovell road.  Another Victorian sink school with no grass, just black asphalt and outside toilet blocks.  At least the violence from the staff had stopped.  Only made two or three so called friends.

Fourth school, Scott hall middle school.  I couldn't cope with a new school, new faces, PE etc.  After two months I just refused to attend.

Fifth school, I don't know the name.  It was a special school located in the grounds of St James hospital, the children were all emotional wrecks like me, the school catered for children all the way from 5 year olds to fifteen.  The school had zero academic content, many children arrived and left by hospital transport, the headmaster was a psychiatrist and half the staff were nurses in uniform.  It was almost like a mental ward.  I stayed a year.

Six school, back to Scott hall middle school,. I coped a bit better.

Sixth school, Roundhay high school, a former grammar school.  I hated it,. Many children in my class were middle class snobs and most knew each other from previous schools,. I felt very very alone.  I only managed six O levels ( 5 Bs and a C) and two A levels ( A and B).

Primary: struggled to read because of my dyslexia. Always thought of as lazy  although I was trying twice as hard as anyone else, spent playtime (which I hated) hiding in the bushes because I didn't get what the other kids were doing.

Middle school; relentlessly bullied for not sounding like them, being sqeamish, and afraid of so many things. School reports said I didn't mix, didn't concentrate (I so did). My head told me it was my fault I was bullied because I wouldn't "be like" the other kids. And when their bullying caused meltdown, he told my parents that if I were his kid he'd "give me a good slap". Then, I join the drama group. I was bloody good at it and started to mix with the drama set. Final year IQ test: result very high. Teacher's were gobsmacked.

Secondary: Rocky start. Still some bullying but I could loose myself better in a big school. Still into drama. Excelled in modern languages. Once my teachers started to see past the secretarial problems caused by the dyslexia, they started to appreciate I was in fact a grafter who could produce excellent discursive and analytical work. Got 8/8 'O' levels. Did 4 x A levels. By then they diagnosed dyslexia and no one called me stupid or lazy any more. The bullies grew out of their problems. I'd hung on against the odds to my true self. Some of them apologised to me and became my friends.

40 odd years and a clutch of post grad quals later, I get an ASD diagnosis. Hey ho! What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. I built a career out of fighting for the underdog. And always will. I was sent those trials to make me a fighter. And I'll always fight.

From what I can remember, which isn't a lot, school for me was a lonely place to be. I was the girl who was always on her own and had no friends. Kept my head down and studied hard. I excelled in most classes as I found learning interesting and exciting so it became an obsession of mine though I despised sports. The teachers got respect or you got a thick ear! I remember one teacher Mr Short now there was a man you would never cross. He was fierce! 

School was lonely for me but then I never wanted any friends because I was different. I was happy on my own learning and enjoying most of the lessons.

Hated and feared school. Didn't do very well at Infant School, being selectively mute from time to time doesn't help. At Junior School I did considerably better, after a slow start. Academically, I was fairly bright, my blind spots were spelling and a total inability to do mental arithmetic. My spelling is now fairly good, but I still can't do mental arithmetic for toffee and I have long ago forgotten the times-tables I agonised over in learning. I was fairly often targeted for bullying, but it always fizzled out after a very short time. I wasn't an attractive candidate as a victim, as I usually had at least a couple of friends, so I wasn't entirely isolated. Also, I always ignored threats and instructions, because, though I lacked self-confidence, I always had a well-developed sense of how I should be treated, and, if pushed too far, I would fight back.

At senior school we had corporal punishment, which increased my anxiety hugely. I was never strapped - thick leather straps about a foot long, specially manufactured for hitting children, if you can believe - but through luck in addition to being as compliant as I could possibly be. I was reasonably successful in academic subjects but PE was a nightmare - ball games? Team games? Team ball games?? Yes, I suffered being the last in the 'choosing teams nightmare'. Since PE teachers have probably not evolved as much as the rest of humanity, it is probably unfair to expect them to know, or feel guilt over, what appalling torture they callously put less sporty children through.

In the end I got 9 'O' levels and stayed on for the 6th form. The 6th form was marginally better - no threat of the strap, being treated as a human being, smaller classes, ditching the potential bullies etc. Finished with 4 'A' levels and got the school prize for the best results (2 years after a woman who later became a Labour MP won it). Then went on to do 3 degrees and a career in academia, conducting scientific research.

On the surface, I did well in the education system, but I loathed school. I would become so anxious on many school mornings that I was often in physical pain from stomach cramps. I think most schools are hellish places for autistic children.

Not good

It was extremely tedious and stressful. To much pressure all the time

I found it to loud to crowded and the bullying pushed me to the edge several times

Left with poor grades and no confidence or self esteem

Home schooled.

gcse english: B

gcse mathematics: B (I think)

a level maths: B

a level computing: N

as level physics: C (I think)

C.A.T.S. 40 points (engineering mathematics, cryptography, hebrew)

MMath 1st. MSc (bioscience) merit. PhD: without correction.

didn’t get a formal diagnosis till after all of that. But at uni they strongly suspected I was autistic and advised me to seek diagnosis.

Hello :)

Didn't do well in school at all. Very bright child but I struggled in an educational setting right from nursery, I remember screaming and clinging on to my mum when she was trying to leave.

Primary school involved lots of running of home during the day.

Secondary school involved lots of bunking off!

I left school with no qualifications (surprise surprise) but I went back into eucation when I was in my 30's. Took my GCSE's, done lots of different work related courses and now at an elite University full time and getting high grades.

It's never too late to start again :) 

I did quite well considering the obstacles to learning that I had. I continue to learn into increasing age and beyond.

I did well at school. It was Adult life that sucked for me. 

However, on reflection, I put on too much of a persona at school. I was the pupil you'd love to hate. Being an entertainer avoided bullying, for me. 

My experience was rather different to some of the other comments.  Academically, I did very well except at PE and practical things like design.  Socially, I did very badly, making few friends and being bullied quite a bit.  I think I used to feel anxious a lot about school without being aware of what I was feeling.  I mean I had butterflies in the stomach most days on the journey in, but never really questioned it.  Then when I was sixteen, I had what was probably burnout, but it wasn't really recognised.

University was different, though.  I could not cope with making friends, I overworked (probably to have an excuse to avoid socialising), I was desperately lonely and by my third year had ground to a complete halt with burnout and depression, which would haunt me for years to come (including through a postgraduate degree).  The workplace has been closer to university than work, sadly, and I feel a bit like all my work was for nothing.

To Be fair either way it's a nice thing!

Was writing a much longer response covering whole of academic life, but lost it when the site safety certificate for forum ran out... pfft

Generally, middle level grades till uni, a few specialisms in business, accounting and economics, but "persuaded" to follow a more specialist career route into spirometry surveying, by a father who was a property surveyor. I'd much prefer to have dome business, but there you go..

Dont lack the intelligence at all, but I put it down as: enough intelligence to rule the world, but unless a special interest, only the effort to get.

Highlights:

Primary:

- created dinosaur wordsearches for kindergartens kids... yep, never realised they couldn't read in first place

- wrote illustrated short stories

- one teacher told parents I was: bright but preferred to count pencils or look out the window.

- wrote letters to (bearing in mind these are all at primary school... and I now hate the tories): John Major (yes that one, I was about 6yrs old!!), the Queen, Noel Edmunds... all responded although with Queen it was her secretary.

- also wrote to banks to fundraise for school garden, the school wasn't aware till I handed over cash...

- argued with one headmistress to use photocopier to duplicate my first (and the last) primary school newspaper... it was actually 1/3 cartoon propaganda on speed limits fml...

- wrote a poem, The Apple Tree and Golden Bee. I sent to blue Peter, it was read out and I I a badge, this then went into an "everything 50p" tub at a car boot sale...

Tbh there *** loads more stupid stuff, but last post ended up very long.

On the intellect, rather than general precociousness... I started retraining in bookkeeping. Every exam I walked out in under 30 mins, they were meant to be an hour... passed the whole lot with a merit...

Tell a lie. One was about 45mins as had to teach myself how to use accounting software for the first 20mins... I had gone in knowing I'd need to... I think I was generally considered at the exam centre as a total a-hole...

Oh, I see. I interpreted that to mean, annoying good in light of the other stuff. Thanks for sharing anyway Robert, it made me chuckle. Perhaps they should have made it more interesting if they wanted you to put effort in!

Think It's 'amazingly' but teachers have similar handwriting to doctors

Think it's an old school z anyway, i think it used to be written like a g. But most keep it in line these days. Have still seen a few examples floating about!

primary school was ok to good for me, but secondary school was awful. subtle to outright bullying. i escaped the worst of it because i was good at some sports and that meant you were protected to some extent,  but felt totally out of my depth in social understanding and communication as soon as moved to secondary school. things got slightly easier when was 17 or 18 because the worst of hormones were out and there was less bullying and people started to focus on university applications. by this point though my anxiety had built up over the years and i was on edge. did ok at gcse level, but tried to work hard for a levels. was good at maths (i did maths and further maths), and then tried a new subject for me, economcis, which i wasa natural at, and also history to balance things out. focused on studying and tried to forget everyone else and gradually retreated from normal school life, become obsessively focused on getting into my chosen university. think i got burnout at the end, but got the good grades i needed.

arrived at university already on edge with cumulative anxiety and absolutely hated it. felt like a fish out of water, cried myself to sleep, retreated to childhood comforts, went and bought my favourite childhood books, got my parents to post me my harry potter books. i got chummy with some mathematicians who were as awkward as me, and we bonded over computer games and drinking a horrendous amnoutn of terrible wine and then beer on friday evenings. that group got me through univeristy. looking back a couple of those are probably autistic which maybe helped things along.

i;ll stop now but work opened up yet more horrors and i think have only 'coped' by having some kind of iron rod of determination to keep going, and somehow 1 form of anxiety forces me to go through another kind of anxiety if you see what i mean - anxiety over standing out, 'failing', upsetting parents, anxiety over looking odd or different allowed me to deal with the anxiety of doing normal thingsfor NTs. i am rambling, but i wanted to write this down because it is helpful for me to get out of system. i'm still upset and angry at how much suffering i put myself through in the past. i have achieved some cool stuff in my life but i have really suffered to do that. not sure how i feel looking at the 'net position'. difficult. it's possible to do things, achieve cool things, but there is a price for us. i just feel weary now.

'Annoyingly good'. Hilarious!

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 ... (!) 

School!

I went through many schools, and that includes two special schools and I had many long absences of months at a time when I just couldn't cope.  

Here is a copy of my earliest school report when I was eight years old.