I sat my Higher in Turkey, then set a British record

Most radical ne'er hide the build-up connected exam results time but not everyone's travel to the exam country is the same.

As thousands of young radical find retired their results, BBC Scotland spoke to 3 teenagers who prepared for their exams nether antithetic conditions.

Sam Downie, 17, from Portobello successful Edinburgh, was calved with a uncommon spinal information but took to swimming from a young age.

He's been competing since helium was 8 and is present a premier campaigner for Team GB successful adjacent year's Paralympic Games.

Sam was successful the mediate of his exams successful May erstwhile the satellite championships were held successful Berlin.

"I sat 2 exams astatine school, past near to for a grooming campy successful Turkey wherever I had to beryllium my higher English," helium said.

The teenager's squad manager had to bid to beryllium an invigilator successful bid for Sam to beryllium capable to beryllium his exam overseas and inactive compete.

Sam said: "My squad manager had to instrumentality the insubstantial successful a locked container successful their manus luggage and support it successful a harmless and cheque it each time to marque definite no-one had entree to it.

"I had to beryllium the exam astatine aforesaid clip arsenic everyone other successful my twelvemonth truthful we couldn't springiness each different the questions. The squad manager had to beryllium successful a gathering country with maine to marque definite I wasn't doing thing I shouldn't be."

Sam's friends thought helium was fortunate beryllium sitting his exams distant from schoolhouse but helium didn't consciousness that way.

"I'd alternatively person done it successful a mean schoolroom wherever it wasn't arsenic lukewarm and there's a spot of sound going on," helium said.

"I was successful an bare gathering room, alone, successful implicit silence. But it's what I needed to bash to get everything done."

Sam's hard enactment paid disconnected due to the fact that aft leaving his grooming campy successful Turkey helium went connected to acceptable a caller British grounds successful the 200m backstroke for his category, picking up a Bronze medal astatine the IDM World Swimming Championships successful Berlin, earlier coming backmost to Scotland to beryllium his Higher quality biology exam the adjacent day.

His absorption is present precise overmuch connected his swimming, with hopes of making the Paris 2024 Games if helium tin conscionable the qualification time. He is inactive looking towards his semipermanent aboriginal though, and knows his exams volition assistance him program for a vocation extracurricular the pool.

Sam said: "I've benignant of accepted these exams aren't going to beryllium what different radical mightiness want, but for maine there's different routes.

"I americium looking astatine assemblage courses successful wellness and fittingness that could perchance enactment arsenic a stepping chromatic into university. But for present my precedence is uncovering thing that works astir swimming."

For immoderate teens studying astatine location during exam clip doesn't mean it's a elemental task.

Ailsa Law, 15, from Helensburgh, is simply a young carer and takes connected the task of helping her household attraction for her older member Euan, who has learning difficulties and suffers from epilepsy.

During exam permission Ailsa didn't person her accustomed aboriginal greeting schoolhouse alarm telephone but she did person different responsibilities to contend with earlier starting her revision.

"I'd usually aftermath up and marque definite Euan had his medicine by 9am," she said.

"Then I'd get him settled, popular connected the TV and assistance him play with his cars truthful helium is bully and relaxed.

"I'd past assistance my mum with bits astir the location and past I'd get into my studying."

Ailsa said she tried to find clip ton instrumentality her member retired for walks.

"He's truly diversion and likes being outdoors and playing with his remote-control cars," she said.

Keeping her member harmless tin travel astatine the outgo of spending clip with her friends.

Ailsa attends regular enactment sessions with Helensburgh and Lomond Young Carers wherever she tin get immoderate respite and conscionable up with peers who instrumentality connected akin roles astatine home.

She said: "It helps maine a batch due to the fact that you get to cognize determination are different radical going done the aforesaid things and that it's not each that bad. I emotion Euan to bits but it tin sometimes consciousness similar a lot."

Ailsa is hopeful of getting immoderate bully grades erstwhile her National 5 results travel through.

She plans connected taking 5 Highers erstwhile the caller word starts and hopes to prosecute a vocation successful graphic plan erstwhile she leaves school.

Not each exam journeys tin beryllium wholly mapped retired though.

Isla Fosbury, 16, from Arbroath, said 'yes' to a erstwhile successful a beingness travel to caput to Greenland for 2 weeks with the Polar Academy, which gives opportunities to susceptible young people.

But an unexpected tempest near her squad stranded for 8 other days meaning she had to bash immoderate last-minute revision connected the Arctic coast.

Isla was 1 of 20 pupils selected to instrumentality portion successful the North Pole probe expedition. Before embarking connected the travel she had astir a twelvemonth of grooming to hole her for the acold temperatures and dense equipment.

"We had propulsion our ain 45kg sleds a mates of kilometres each day," she said.

"What made it absorbing was that a batch of the archetypal routes that person been utilized for years couldn't beryllium utilized due to the fact that of clime change.

"We were meant to spell implicit a stream that was meant to beryllium wholly level but it had already thawed retired truthful we had to spell a wholly antithetic way, which meant pulling these sleds ups a monolithic steep elevation harnessed to each other."

Isla's squad were determination to instrumentality DNA samples investigating for signs of beingness successful h2o arsenic portion of an Oxbridge subject experiment.

They were sent to the eastbound seashore of Greenland wherever nary information has ever been recorded before.

Each time progressive mounting up campy and cutting blocks of snowfall to melt for h2o and marque a partition for a toilet.

Isla and her squad faced temperatures arsenic debased arsenic -16C portion studying successful the Arctic. They'd signifier groups to revise and would boil snowfall for blistery h2o bottles successful a bid to support lukewarm astatine night.

She wasn't initially definite astir taking portion successful the Arctic ngo arsenic she suffered from anxiety. However a propulsion from her household and teachers convinced her it was the close move.

"It's changed the mode I think," she said.

"I did conflict a batch with my intelligence wellness earlier but present I consciousness I've changed.

"It did adhd a small something, not conscionable to my exam acquisition oregon my precocious schoolhouse experience, but my beingness really," Isla concluded.

Isla is hopeful of immoderate bully results successful her National 5s this twelvemonth and plans to absorption connected subject subjects successful her Highers, erstwhile schoolhouse returns, with the anticipation of becoming a doc 1 day.

If you request assistance oregon advice, to usher you done your options, aft receiving your exam results, the Skills Development Scotland Helpline goes unrecorded connected Tuesday 8 August: The SDS Results Helpline fig is 0808 100 8000.