A LEVEL RESULTS DAY- Dan's reaction

I would like to say a big "congratulations" to all those who received results from their A Level Examinations yesterday, and a further "well done" to those who managed to secure a place at their chosen university. I, for one, am celebrating the opportunity I will have to read Physical Geography at the Royal Holloway, in Surrey. It is, arguably, the best university, I think, for this particular strand of Geographical Higher Education and I am looking forward to working amongst fellow keen geographers like myself!

From what I understand from a report released from the Royal Geographical Society, Geography seems to be getting more popular; great news for people like me who are continually promoting the subject. There was an increase in the number of students sitting Geography A levels this year; 32,005 students across England, Northern Ireland and Wales took their A2 exams this year and 45,923 sat AS Exams. Collectively, that is 3.9% higher than 2011.

One of the things that was going through my mind yesterday was whether academic excellence and high level attainment are any substitute for subject passion. Are they compactible? Does one naturally get top results if they are 100% passionate about the subject?

Not for me, and maybe not for you either. I have 200+% passion for Geography; the subject and the way it is delivered. I put in hundreds of extra hours into it; well, 'Geography with Dan' is just one example. But, I certainly don't receive the highest results all the time. Flip the coin, and let's consider someone who actually does get the top grades. Not just in a few exams, but in every exam. This person will most likely to have read the textbook inside and out, learning it by rote, so that no question can stumble him or her on the exam day. Does he have time to explore around the subject? Does he find time just to sit there, sipping on a latte, cruising through undergraduate papers and professional journals? Probably not.

So what's my point here? Well, academic excellence is to be encouraged, without a shadow of a doubt. But a strict, military-like approach to learning the information for the exam, I don't think, is always the way to go. We want and, more importantly, need people to think outside the box. The world requires those who can think just as broad as they do deep, and not those who knows what colour the sub-heading is on page 34 of their textbook.

In short, to those going to study at universities in September, high grades are most certainly significant but shouldn't be a substitute for passion. Explore the subject. Ask questions. Debate answers. Have passion.

My very best wishes to all those going to a university of their choice, particularly those who are going on to further explore the wonderful world of Geography.