The previous year my friend Amy had left also to go to a private school to finish her education and went to St Columbus.
For nursery I attended St Columbus and I recall hating it. The worst parts being the green uniform and everyone was, in my opinion, really posh. It was the same when I went back there for my entrance exam. I felt, as though I could not go back there, I was too different. The exam or test as I called it was exceedingly tough, I hardly understood any of the questions and when I came to the part where I had to write an essay, I had no idea what an essay even was. I read on and discovered that it was an upmarket way of saying “story”. I could not believe that Amy could have passed this test, it was just too hard. We had always competed for top marks in primary school, but now I was completely lost.
The following week I returned to find out how well or how badly I had done. My mark was all right and I was told that I could become a student at that school if I wanted but there were other, better pupils who the headmaster would rather give my place to. I remember thinking to myself no, no, no, I did not want to go back, the work was too hard, I hated the uniform and most of all I knew I would not fit in.
So, I went to the entrance exam in Craigholme thinking, I will not get in, I will not get in. Much to my surprise I found the work was more suited to my level, using language I understood. I thought that because it was a private school that everyone was going to be really posh and clever too. Much to my astonishment, they were more like me than I had expected.
My aunt attended Craigholme for both primary and secondary schooling and is now a lawyer and works for one of the biggest firms in Glasgow. I felt a heavy weight lying on my shoulders because I knew that if I managed to get into this school then I had a lot to live up to. I did get in and to this day I continue to feel as though I still have many things to accomplish.
As I mentioned earlier I am really ambitious and I want to achieve a great deal from life. I am hoping to pass all my Standard Grade exams with really good marks and go on to do higher and advanced higher in my favourite subjects in fifth and sixth year respectively.
If I manage to do this then I will have achieved the first part of my goals and overcome many challenges in the process.
The last major challenge in my education is getting a place in either St Andrews University or Cambridge University. That would be a dream come true for me and I know that I can do it to prove to myself that I can live up to everyone’s expectations.