With results day around the corner, your child might be feeling stressed about what comes next if academia isn’t their thing, or they don’t think they performed well in their GCSEs or A Levels. As a parent, you may find it difficult to know what to say beyond clichés if their exam results aren’t ‘glowing’, especially when you know your teenager has strengths outside of the exam hall. So, how can you respond supportively? And what qualities can you reassure them are more important than exam results? Be there for them firstYour child is likely to be upset – read the room and consider their emotions before diving in with advice or questions, or expressing your own feelings about the situation. “While it is only natural to feel your own sense of disappointment, as best as possible, we need to put aside our emotional response and be a calm, safe place for our kids,” says psychologist and author of Self-Care For Tough Times, Suzy Reading. “It can help to identify a time later to express your own feelings – you’re not stuffing them down or denying them, you’ll make space to bear witness to them later,” Reading adds. “Take a couple of long exhalations and listen without rushing in to fix. Support and allow your child to express all the feelings and thoughts that will come cascading. Action planning can come later – they just need to feel heard, understood, validated and cared for.” Exams aren’t everything It is helpful to remind them that this isn’t the be-all and end-all. There’s lots more to a person than their grades and exam results. “While exams can be really important, it’s also good to remember that they are not the only measure of success,” says Gemma Campbell, counsellor and clinical content specialist at Kooth Digital Health. “There are plenty of amazing qualities you have that standard exams don’t measure – resilience, determination, humour, curiosity, courage, compassion and kindness,” Campbell adds. Well-rounded skillsets And going forward into the professional world, there are really valuable skills and traits that are not exam-based. “While academic achievements have a significant place, they should not overshadow the development of essential skills and qualities that make great business leaders and entrepreneurs,” says Sarah Austin, director of the British Business Excellence Awards. Creativity For example, creativity is paramount to innovation. “In a rapidly evolving business landscape, creativity has become a prized asset,” says Austin. “Motivating our children to think outside the box – questioning established norms – and exploring alternative solutions is what nurtures their creative potential. “Grades may measure the ability to absorb and regurgitate information, but creativity is what propels individuals to envision new possibilities and drive innovation,” she adds. “The ability to approach problems from different angles, to adapt to change and to create something entirely new will position our children as the trailblazers of tomorrow in the business world.” Passion If there is something your teen loves, encourage it. This can help harness lots of other useful skills in the process – such as curiosity, determination and focus. “One of the most valuable skills a person can possess is passion. Encouraging our children to explore their interests and pursue their passions will ignite a flame within them – when they do something they genuinely love, they are more likely to invest their time and effort wholeheartedly,” Austin says. “By instilling the belief that passion is a driving force, we can empower our children to shape their future careers based on what truly inspires them. In the business world, this passion translates into unwavering dedication and a genuine love for what a person does – setting the stage for remarkable achievements.” Resilience Disappointing exam results may be a setback, but how they respond to them may show their greatest skill: resilience. “In the face of challenges and setbacks, the ability to bounce back and persevere is essential – cultivating hardiness and resilience in our children will hand them the tools to overcome obstacles and navigate the unpredictable nature of the business world,” Austin says. “While grades may provide a temporary measure of success, it is the tenacity and determination to push forwards that truly separates outstanding leaders from the rest.”

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Facebook owner Meta is to make approximately 490 full-time employees redundant across its Irish operations. The roles are being cut from a number of teams including finance, sales, marketing, analytics, operations and engineering. Employees at Meta Ireland were notified on Wednesday they were potentially impacted by a global restructuring which was announced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this year. In March, Meta revealed it plans to cut about 10,000 jobs globally, just four months after it axed 11,000 workers. The company said it will comply with Irish legal requirements in relation to redundancy timelines and processes. Meta, which is also the parent company of Instagram and WhatsApp, said the decision does not impact its “commitment to Ireland”, adding it will continue to be the international headquarters and base for several important company functions. The final number of redundancies will be determined by a collective consultation processes.

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer are to be released in cinemas on the same day, 21 July - with cinema fans excited to attend the double feature. When it was announced that both films were coming out on the same day, this information thoroughly entertained the internet given how they are opposite to one another. Barbie with its pink aesthetic, with musical and comedic moments, compared to the seriousness and black aesthetic of Oppenheimer as it's all about the development of the atomic bomb. Sign up tBarbenheimer our free Indy100 weekly newsletter As a result, the mash-up term "Barbenheimer" was coined as people posted various memes about the two films, and now there is even fan-made merch available. Margot Robbie herself has commented on the craze, telling Grazia at the Barbie London premiere: "I saw an amazing mock-up of a Barbenheimer poster today online and I want to get it made into a t-shirt and maybe somehow get Cillian Murphy to sign that t-shirt." Here are some TikToks and tweets of our favourite designs: While people have been sharing their excitement at buying Barbenheimer t-shirts, others couldn't help but notice advertisement bots on Twitter and expressed their annoyance at them popping up under tweets. Where can I buy a Barbenheimer t-shirt? There are various design styles on Redbubble - an online marketplace for print t-shirts where users can submit their artwork and get it printed according to demand. Meanwhile, other designers often put their products up on Etsy, as well as on Printerval where the ‘Limited Barbenheimer Vintage T-Shirt’ is available to purchase. There are plenty of different options, so you're ready for Barbenheimer day on July 21. Elsewhere, 20 of the best Barbenheimer memes, reactions and mashups, our Barbie vs Oppenheimer quiz and The 'Barbenheimer Effect' dating trend explained. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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The moment the first crates of English sparkling wine were pulled up from the depths of the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Sandnessjøen, Tani Gurra, the director of beverages for Norway’s Hurtigruten Coastal Express, shed a tear. Or so I’m told – I’m currently watching the raising of the third crate of wine from a boat alongside other members of the press. Prior to this bright but teeth-chatteringly cold day, all 1,700 bottles had been sitting 30 metres below the surface of the Arctic Ocean for six months, the first time any wine has been aged in these waters. It’s an exciting day for the Hurtigruten team and Rathfinny Wine Estate, the Sussex winery where the bottles have been sourced. Husband and wife team Mark and Sarah Driver are here, watching the dark bottles of their 2018 classic cuvee emerge from black Nordic waters. Everyone is anxious to see if they have survived their time under immense (43.5psi) pressure. To our relief, every bottle and wax-sealed cork ascend intact. Love wine but don’t know where to start? The Independent Wine Club features curated cases from small growers and expert advice on how to enjoy wine. Sign up now for free. Around 24 hours before this jubilant moment, I found myself on a Hurtigruten ship, sailing from the Lofoten archipelago to Tromsø. With it being late spring, we were quickly approaching midnight sun territory; at 12am, we were invited onto the deck to view the majestic Trollfjord. But instead of the pitch black of midnight, we were surrounded by the distinct blueness of twilight. The remaining snowcaps on the fjord almost glowed in the dark. Even though it’s been around for 130 years, Hurtigruten struggles to define itself – it’s not a ferry, despite ferrying thousands of Norwegians from town to town along the coast, nor is it a cruise, despite giving tourists who spend days fjord-watching a rather luxurious experience. Several times throughout the trip, people would ask: “So is it a cruise or a ferry?” And each time, the answer was something along the lines of: “It’s sort of both, and neither.” The ships have immense charm, despite their neither-here-nor-there status. The number of passengers each one can take varies, but the MS Nordkapp, on which I am sailing, boasts capacity for up to 590 passengers, around 480 of which can book cabins if they want to join 12-day voyages that will take them to numerous ports along the way. They are nowhere near as large as the behemoth cruiseliners that groan with the weight of on-board casinos, theme parks, ballrooms and spas, burping and farting tons of chemicals into the ocean. Hurtigruten’s fleet is tiny in comparison and each vessel has a limited number of facilities: two small hot tubs in lieu of a spa, a gym, a cafe with a bakery and an ice cream bar, a fine dining restaurant, and a bar with panoramic views of the outside world. From June, the ships will offer passengers hankering after a glass of bubbly a taste of their sea-sunken sparkling. The collaboration between Hurtigruten and Rathfinny is part of its 130th anniversary celebrations, but the goal is to make the wine their house sparkling. The classic cuvee is the estate’s “house-style” Sussex sparkling and gained critical acclaim almost immediately after it hit the market. The Independent named it the best classic cuvee in 2022 and described it as “exemplary English winemaking”, noting “precise flavours of citrus and apricots and hints of cream”. But sinking the bottles is something Rathfinny has never tried before, until now. It was Gurra’s idea. He and Andre Petterson, vice president of hotel operations at Hurtigruten, decided to give the method a shot after seeing news that a group of divers found 168 bottles of French champagne on an underwater shipwreck in 2010. The bottles, discovered in the Baltic Sea, were 170 years old and had spent decades in what could have been a watery grave – but instead turned out to be the perfect temperature-controlled cellar for ageing wine. “I started thinking and talking about it, and thought, ‘Why not? Why can’t we do something like this? The Arctic Sea is a part of us, and we already source food from all along the coast of Norway,” Gurra tells me. “For us, the fjords are fish stocks, the mountains are our vegetable and herb gardens. Why not the sea for wine?” But Norway is better known for its spirits, not its wine. They cast their eyes towards England, from which a significant portion of their passengers hail, and landed on Rathfinny. It is rather poetic that the Rathfinny Wine Estate has on its label the Seven Sisters – the iconic chalk sea cliffs that make the Sussex coastline so recognisable. The location where they’ve chosen to age their wines has its own Seven Sisters: a mountain range on the island of Alsten in Alstahaug Municipality. Mark and Sarah are buzzing to show off their label and the unexpected connection with Norway during the uncorking of their wines. Mark says: “We are really proud to showcase Sussex in Norway. English wines have been making a name for themselves and it really is something special for us to be on Hurtigruten ships, especially as they are really popular with English tourists.” I had the chance to taste the Rathfinny classic cuvee before and after the undersea ageing process. The before-wine was a lovely, dry sparkling; my notes read “sharp bubbles, fruity”. It’s easy to see why it’s a firm favourite among wine-lovers, considering its versatility and ease of drinking. How could six months underwater possibly change it, I wondered? During the uncorking, I am pleasantly surprised. The time the wine has spent in the sea has made it somehow rounder, gentler on the tongue. Gurra describes it as having a more “feminine touch” and being “softer, smoother” to drink. Nikolai Haram Svorte, who was crowned Norway’s best sommelier this year, was invited to be the first to try the wine and give his verdict. Against a steely grey sky, he sabered the first bottle and tasted a glass, declaring it “the start of something truly exciting”. He added: “The wine has retained more freshness than I anticipated. From the refreshing citrus tones to a mineral salty finish, like an oyster, it’s clear to me that this hugely intriguing experiment has revealed a unique setting to store and age sparkling wine.” My own feeling is that the newly aged bubbles will be a big hit among passengers of Hurtigruten. The softer mouthfeel makes it even easier to drink, and I can envision clinking glasses while watching Norway’s majestic landscape float past. Read More The curious history of sauvignon blanc – and what to drink if you hate it The Independent Wine Club best cases 2023: Wine from small growers Win a mixed wine case, perfect for pairing with food The Independent Wine Club best cases 2023: Wine from small growers Win a mixed wine case, perfect for pairing with food Uncorked: How do I keep my wine cool at a picnic?

The SAG-AFTRA strike has begun, but it's business as usual in Westeros. As reported by