16 years old, dad diagnosed with brain cancer. Struggling to cope with both school and cancer.

I'm so sorry for your situation. 

Do you have a school counsellor? Or a teacher who you trust perhaps?

Your instincts to spend time with your dad and try and study show what a lovely, caring and sensible girl? You are. I'm sure he is so proud of you and probably terribly anxious about your future as well as his own situation. 

I'm a secondary school teacher,  so I want to try and offer some advice on the issues aside from your dad. As I can't help with that. But hopefully might be able to alleviate some of your worries. 

 GCSEs are a gateway to more education. Fantastic grades are good, but not the be all and end all. You can stay in your school for a levels as your teachers will know your abilities not based on your exam performance.  Make sure you tell someone . You will get special consideration for your circumstances 

 If you fail, you can retake. It takes a little longer but its possible. You can even go to evening classes and get qualifications later on in life.

I hope that is of some use to you.

I wish you peace and hope x

Thank you so much, I rly appreciate your advice! I go to quite a competitive school where there's quite a lot of pressure to work hard and get amazing grades, so whilst teachers have tried to help, none have actually asked if I needed help with my workload. To hear that there are other options if my exams don't work out is really helpful. Thanks again!

Hello again. 

I'm glad my advice helped.

If it's a competitive school I imagine there are a lot of resources or support that you could access.

Asking for help is not a weakness.  It's a strength. 

We all need a guiding hand at one time or another.  Recognising that means you don't fall as far x

Please please tell someone exactly what is going on at home.  There are people there to help.

X let me know how it goes and I teach Spanish,  so if I can help let me know.  

Thank you, I will definitely try and ask my teachers for some help or at least let them know I'm struggling. Thanks again!

I just wanted to see how you are doing x

One of my daughters was your age and 1 2 years younger when I was diagnosed with incurable cancer. Their school was aware of the situation and they were both given a support person and were able to go to a quiet space if they became overwhelmed at school which they both did at times. I hope you can find the same support at your school. Please ask for help if you need it or have you got a good school friend who could let your teachers know if you struggle.

I hope you find the help you need st this hard time xx

Thank you that's very thoughtful. I'm doing well which I never thought was possible and I suppose life has sort of returned to a new normal for a while :)