11 Feb 2014 We all remember classmates who got few O-Levels or GCSEs, but went on to become surprisingly successful in their careers. Likewise, there are always those who do very well at school but for whom success fizzles out later. So, what’s the difference? There is a wealth of research that suggests an individual’s character traits, as much as how bright they are or what exams they get, determine their path in life. The ‘recipe for success’ tends to include self-belief, the patience to pursue long-term goals, the ability to ‘bounce back’ from failures, recognition of the relationship between effort and (sometimes distant or uncertain) reward, and the persistence to keep going. For many years, our educational focus as a country has been all but exclusively on exam results. Now, leading education jurisdictions such as Singapore are increasingly adding an emphasis on the ‘character development’ agenda. As John Cridland CBE, Director-General of the CBI has warned, “there is a danger t