Sarah Harte: Success of Djamel White and Claire Keegan show going to university isn't everything

Booker nominees' success shows the path to greatness is not as linear as we lead young people to believe, something those anxiously awaiting their Leaving Cert results should remember

Claire Keegan failed English in the Leaving Certificate. Years later, her novel Small Things Like These was chosen for the Leaving Certificate English course.

Claire Keegan failed English in the Leaving Certificate, something she spoke about this summer. Years later, her novel Small Things Like These, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, was also chosen for the Leaving Certificate English course. The irony was not lost on her, and she described herself as "tickled" by it.

It should act as a reminder to the thousands of people anxiously waiting for the Leaving Certificate results, and their parents, that a Leaving Cert result is a snapshot of one day — it’s not a measure of a person’s potential.