Perthshire schoolboy Rohan Mann was on duty serving ice cream to Londonderry tourists when he learned his outstanding exam results.
His unexpected straight As were the cherry on top as the Strathallan School senior dished out desserts at famous Morelli’s in the Northern Irish seaside resort of Portstewart.
Rohan, 17, from Dunning, has a summer job at the ice cream parlour near where his grandmother and other family live.
After an early start, he was on his break when his phone buzzed with an eagerly awaited message from the SQA.
Rohan was among around 140,000 young people from across Scotland to receive their exam results last Tuesday, many by text or email as well as by post.
To his surprise, the SMS revealed As in Higher maths, physics, economics, French and Latin.
He said: “I couldn’t believe it.
“It feels so good to know my hard work has paid off and takes pressure off next year.”
Since school broke off at the start of July, Rohan had been nervous about the grades he would receive in some subjects.
He said: “I was a wee bit worried and just couldn’t wait for them to come.”
When he returned to duty to serve customers his outstanding results gave him an extra reason to smile.
He said: “I wasn’t expecting all As!”
Rohan has his summer job as he spends the holidays with his family in Portstewart and neighbouring Portrush.
He said: “Morelli’s is the best in the area so I applied when I knew I’d be here for the summer.”
Eyeing a career in economics and a place at Edinburgh or St Andrews University, he says shifts in the ice cream parlour are giving him skills for life beyond school.
“Working at Morelli’s has helped me learn to deal better with people and it has given me a hard work ethic,” he said.
Strathallan School exam results 2023
When he returns for his final year at Strathallan School at the end of this month, Rohan hopes to scoop up even more qualifications.
He said: “With five As behind me, I can now plan ahead.
“I’m looking to take two Advanced Highers and an additional Higher in business, so that next year I’m in the perfect position to apply for an economics degree.”
Rohan’s results were part of the Perthshire independent school’s best ever performance in Higher and Advanced Higher.
Lower Sixth students recorded a 92% pass rate in Highers overall – and remarkably in drama, economics, French, music, Latin and Spanish every candidate achieved an A.
And 93% of Upper Sixth students secured spots at their first-choice university or other destination.
More results will be on the way for Strathallan students on Thursday, as GCSE and A-Level grades are issued.
Conversation