Today I had a taste of what it’s like working in a call centre as I manned the phones for University clearing.   Hopeful young students nervously gave me their grades and waited with baited breath while I calculated their credits before putting them through to a tutor for the final decision, or told them they hadn’t met the minimum criteria.

It’s heartbreaking when you tell a young person their grades aren’t good enough, especially when they beg you to consider the fact that they really, really want to do business studies and if they could ‘just talk to the tutor’ they could possibly negotiate their way in…   I can sympathise – I know what it’s like when you don’t get the grades you hoped for!

What’s worse though, are the ranty parents who don’t understand why little Billy wasn’t accepted on the course and “What are YOU basing YOUR criteria on?!!!”.   Not surprisingly I came away with a rather large headache and an overwhelming desire to lie down.   Despite this, it was an enjoyable experience and great to be directly interacting with young people!