What makes a successful A Level student (with a little help from Disney and friends)?

Dr John Parsons, Director of Sixth at WHS, looks at the character traits needed to have success at A Level, using famous Disney moments to illustrate his argument.

Anybody who has ever watched a successful A Level student nervously open her results envelope, fingers crossed for A*s, recognises that wonderful moment of realisation when at last she sees what she has achieved. All that hard work, effort and struggle was worth it in the end. But success doesn’t happen by accident. Contrary to Jiminy Cricket’s philosophy, merely wishing on a star just isn’t enough. For those that doubt I have Disney magic (and there are a few), then, some Disney (and other) wisdom to explore what makes a successful A Level student.

Goal setting & going the distance

 

Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs photo above by freepngimp.com

Without a goal, all the hard work counts for nothing. The Seven Dwarfs are happy to put in the hours: We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig in our mine the whole day through. Nobody doubts the Dwarfs’ capacity for hard work, but they themselves freely admit to missing the point entirely: we don’t know what we dig ‘em for, we dig dig digga dig dig. They have no intrinsic motivation. Without a goal in mind, it is hard to stay determined and to develop the self-belief to go the distance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI0x0KYChq4

 

Whistling while you work

Snow White whistles while she works and Mary Poppins (another great Disney woman we first meet cleaning) tells us that in every job that must be done there is an element of fun; modern-day positive mindsets from both.

For A Levels, the daily plod through tests, homework and revision is always most effective and productive when it is done with a smile. Top students tend to make a game of learning and are creative and varied in how they learn new things before they test themselves on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIwa9sPFT5I

 

Keep on swimming

Top A Level students don’t fear setbacks and mistakes. Rather, they know that therein lies the deepest sort of learning. Indeed, what we see from the most successful students is a wilful desire to actively seek out challenge and difficulty, embracing potential misunderstanding. We meet Dorothy in the 1939 film Wizard of Oz not wishing on a star but vividly imagining what life will be like somewhere beyond the rainbow, and crucially acknowledging that the journey will likely be a hopeless jumble. Her key (very Wimbledonian) character traits of braininess, compassion and courage (exemplified in the quests of her companions Tinman, Lion and Scarecrow) allow her to negotiate the unexpected deviations from her path. Dorothy decides that her mission is more important than the noise in her head when doubts creep in, instead choosing to walk on through those lions and tigers and bears. At every turn, Dorothy stands up and makes a choice and gets on with it despite the difficult bits – one ruby-slippered foot after the other.

"The Wizard of Oz (1939)" by twm1340 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
“The Wizard of Oz (1939)” by twm1340 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Finding Nemo’s Dory makes the same point to demotivated Nemo; just keep swimming. In other words, only move forward. It’s the only way to respond.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hkn-LSh7es

 

Don’t just fly. Soar.

And of course, top students remain confidently ambitious in all of this. That advice to Dumbo, an elephant seemingly unlikely ever to fly, eventually becomes his reality – Don’t just fly. Soar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9qu3GCQFsA

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In summary, successful A Level students always have a goal, they try to stay cheerful whilst putting in the hours, they find the fun in learning new things and embrace mistakes and learn from them, and they keep on going. They leave wishing on stars to Pinocchio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pguMUFyJ3_U