We’re proud to take part in this year’s #NoWrongPath campaign to raise awareness of a range of career routes and pathways that will always remain open to realising potential, no matter what results day brings.
Launched in 2017, No Wrong Path is a social media movement by Developing the Young Workforce (DYW). It has won awards and offers inspiration and reassurance to young people getting their results. This year, Results Day is on Tuesday, 5th August and we’re sharing stories from our team, mentors and supporters to show young people there are always options, no matter what news the day may bring later this week.
Next up is Rebecca Finnie, Community Delivery Lead at MCR Pathways in the North of Scotland.
“I grew up in a rural part of Moray in Scotland, so growing up both the primary and secondary school I went to were very small. In secondary, I wasn’t a huge fan of the social side of school and often felt I didn’t really fit in even though I had a nice group of friends. This made me at times not want to attend, and I had some time off school with illness and anxiety in S3.
“However, I actually really liked learning and enjoyed most of my subjects and had some great teachers that encouraged me to do well. I particularly enjoyed classes in my last year of school as I got to take all my favourite subjects for my exams.
“In S4 I decided that school was no longer for me as I didn’t like the environment and in S5 I was going to be unable to take the subjects I wanted, so I decided to apply for college. This was never what I planned to do throughout my school journey as I had ambitions to go to university straight after school. However, I felt that staying in school at a place I didn’t enjoy wasn’t right for me.
“When choosing to apply for college I did lots of research on the courses at my local college, and spent my Christmas holidays in S4 writing my application for a National Certificate in Social Sciences. I chose this course as within it I could study four Higher qualifications and I knew that would allow me to still go to university. I was very lucky to have lots of support from my family that helped me with getting to interviews and in my interview I was given a conditional place, and I was guaranteed a place on my course, granted I achieved at least one National 5. This allowed me to set goals for what I wanted to achieve in my exams and I started setting short term goals for studying.
“I found college a much better environment than school, I was finally treated like an adult and while this gave me more responsibility, I thrived in college and was able to improve my English grade. After completing my course I thought I would go on to do a HNC in Social Sciences, but after starting my new course I just didn’t think it was right for me, so I decided to drop out of my HNC and go into full time work in Hospitality.
“While I quite like working in Hospitality, it wasn’t what I really wanted to do. But working full-time for a year allowed me to save some money and have a think about what I actually wanted to do. I then decided it was time to pursue a passion I had from school and I started to apply for HNC’s in Drama and Performance. After that, I went to a few interviews and auditions and received a couple of rejections which knocked my confidence. However, I tried to learn from my failures and eventually I got a place to study HNC in Musical Theatre at Lossie Entertainment Academy.
“During my three years there I achieved a HND and got lots of experience working with children and young people. Through this, I discovered a love for working with people in the community, facilitating, and creating theatre. Just before I completed my HND the Covid-19 lockdown happened, so I had to finish my course at home and did all my assessments online.
“Once I completed my HND I didn’t know what to do because so much of the country was still in lockdown, so I took a year off studying and worked again when I could. I then found a brand new course starting at Dundee and Angus College in BA (Hons) Professional Theatre Practice and I successfully got a place, and after a year of work achieved a degree.
“It then took me a little while to find a job after finishing my degree, but after a couple months of applying for jobs (and a lot of rejections) I started in the role of Schools Engagement Assistant at Robert Gordon University, this let me work with young people throughout Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to help with studying and applying for university.
“I really enjoyed this job, as I didn’t have someone to help me with writing my applications growing up. After a year of working at Robert Gordon University I was ready for a change and a job came up at MCR Pathways which would allow me to work with young people both in and out of school and I believed this would suit me perfectly and give me a chance to develop in my career.
“At secondary school I never thought I would be working in education or with young people. I always thought I would be an actor, psychologist, or forensic scientist (I changed my career goals a lot). My role is very different to what I wanted to do in school and I remember one teacher telling me I would be good as a teacher and I said no way! And while I don’t think I will ever become a teacher, I actually enjoy working in schools and with young people.
“I wouldn’t have discovered what I actually wanted to do without going to college and studying for my degree – so I always say if you don’t know what you want to do after school it is perfectly okay, just do what you enjoy and you will figure it out over time. Nowadays, there’s also a lot more support in school to figure out what you want to do career wise.
“My biggest setback I would say is after I finished my degree I applied for lots of jobs in the creative and education sectors and got a lot of rejections, it is hard to get a rejection after you work for hours on an application or you really wanted that job, however I persevered and after a lot of hard work got my job at Robert Gordon University.
“Getting all those rejections allowed me to learn though, and without getting rejections I wouldn’t be where I am now. My biggest achievement I would have to say was getting my degree, it was a lot of work but the most fun I have ever had.
“Getting good exam results is great, but if your results are not what you expected, that is totally okay. There is always another route to the career or course you would like to do after school and a few bad grades don’t define who you are! After getting your results take some time to reflect, if you are returning to school speak to your guidance teacher or another trusted teacher about what would be the best courses to take.
“If you planned to leave school and didn’t get the results your needed to get into college, university, or your apprenticeship I would say give them a phone and ask about alternative courses, after exams results day colleges and universities work hard to make sure you get a place and may offer your a space on another similar course, or they will let you know what should be your next steps to get into the course you really want to do. It may also be good to look at other colleges than just the one you applied for.
“You can also call the results helpline for advice on 0800 917 8000. Overall, your results, good or bad, don’t define you and there is always another option if Plan A doesn’t work out for you.”If Rebecca’s story has inspired you to share your own, there’s still plenty of time for you to get involved, to inspire and reassure young people. We welcome everyone involved with MCR Pathways to share their stories – from young people, mentors, trustees, partners and our wider supporters.
From Monday 4th – Friday 8th August 2025, tell us your name, what you did when you left school and what you do now. Print out and fill in the #NoWrongPath 2025 template below, and send a photo of you holding it to marketing.comms@mcrpathways.org
Download the template – https://www.dyw.scot/uploads/1/0/5/5/105538585/nowrongpath_24_-_printable_participation_template.pdf
Could you dedicate an hour a week to become a volunteer mentor with MCR Pathways, and help a young person get on a path to realising their potential?
Register now: https://mcrpathways.org/become-a-mentor/
