WHAT advice would you give your teenage self?

My colleagues at Bury Grammar School advise the following:

Don’t let anyone set a limit on what you can achieve, just keep working hard to achieve it.

Always make the most of the time spent with important people in your life, as you never know what will happen to them.

‘This too will pass’ – whether making the most of good experiences or understanding that bad situations will improve

Don’t worry about ‘fitting in, looking right’ – even your peers will accept you as you are. Quirky is attractive!

Your mistakes are actually your lessons.

Don’t rush to grow up.

Time is precious; be ambitious and content.

Never forget where you came from!

Have faith in your own opinion. (Pulp really were better than Blur and Oasis)

Don’t use sunbeds, don’t mess with your hair colour too much and don’t marry the first boy you meet at Freshers’ week.

Don’t worry so much.

Don’t count calories – it makes you miserable.

Make the most of being young and don’t be afraid to have a go and make mistakes.

Keep trying to change the world – idealism is needed

It’s not true that school days are the best of your life – life gets better as you get older if you let it.

And this is my favourite piece of advice, from Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”