Why Grit Matters (Now More Than Ever)
With the recent government announcement on teaching grit in schools, the conversation around perseverance and resilience has resurfaced — and rightly so. Grit isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a key ingredient in helping young people thrive — not just in school, but in life.
Angela Duckworth, the leading voice in this field, defines grit as “passion and perseverance for long-term goals.” In her research, she found something that many teachers and parents already instinctively know: that grit is a better predictor of success than talent or intelligence. The child who keeps going, who gets up again after a knock, is more likely to flourish than the one who gives up at the first hurdle — even if that child shows a lot of promise.
This doesn’t mean we stop valuing ability. But it does mean we start paying more attention to the kind of effort that goes into learning, growing, and pushing through discomfort. And that starts early.
The Problem: When It Looks Easy, Trying Hard Can Feel Like Failure
We’re raising children in an age of polish and performance. On TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram, we see the finished product — the perfect dance, the beautifully iced cake, the flawless football trick. What we rarely see are the countless failed attempts, the frustration, the bruised knees, or the burnt edges.
So it’s no wonder that some children try something once, don’t succeed, and quietly conclude: I’m not good at this. Or worse, I’m not the kind of person who can do this.
Teachers often report seeing this mindset in the classroom — a reluctance to try, especially if success isn’t guaranteed. A child might abandon a story after the first paragraph, rub out their drawing halfway through, or groan in frustration at the first tricky maths problem.
But success, in the real world, isn’t a straight line. It’s a tangle of trial and error, setbacks and course corrections. Children need to see that clearly — not just hear it as a motivational poster.
Fortunately, grit can be nurtured. It’s not a fixed trait — it grows through experience, encouragement, and modelling. Here are a few ways we can help children build it.
One of the simplest is to show the process. Let children see that great work doesn’t arrive fully formed. Share the messy drafts, the practice attempts, the prototypes. If a pupil writes a second version of a story, show both on the wall. If they work on a painting over time, display the stages, not just the polished piece. This helps them see improvement as something real and measurable, not just a vague hope.
Another shift is to praise the effort, not just the end result. Comments like, “You’ve really stuck with this even though it was tricky,” or, “I can see how much you’ve improved,” send the message that progress matters. It’s not about ignoring outcomes — it’s about balancing them with recognition of the steps taken.
Children also benefit from hearing stories of real people who have shown grit — especially from close to home.
Take Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, born with spina bifida and using a wheelchair from the age of seven. She went on to become one of Britain’s most successful Paralympians, winning 11 gold medals. But her early training was brutal, and her successes hard-won. She has spoken candidly about times she wanted to give up, and how sheer persistence got her through.
Or Dame Stephanie Shirley, who arrived in Britain as an unaccompanied child refugee. She started a tech company in the 1960s at a time when women weren’t welcome in boardrooms — so she signed her name “Steve” just to get through the door. She built a software empire and used her wealth to fund autism research after personal tragedy struck. Her story is full of challenge, grit, and the drive to keep going — not for fame or money, but for purpose.
Or Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell, whose discovery of pulsars changed astrophysics — but whose male supervisor received the Nobel Prize. She kept going anyway. Her quiet dignity, fierce intelligence, and lifelong commitment to science and fairness are the essence of grit.
These aren’t just inspiring stories. They’re vital counter-narratives to a culture that often values fast results and flawless execution. They show that effort matters, that setbacks are survivable, and that determination can lead somewhere extraordinary.
Not Every Attempt Will Succeed — And That’s the Point
Of course, not everything children try will go well. But every attempt can still be meaningful. The goal isn’t to raise children who never fail. It’s to raise children who can cope with failure — who see it as feedback, not finality.
We can go even further and celebrate great failures. Talk about mistakes as part of the learning journey. Use examples from history, science, or your own life to show that trying and failing is how we all move forward.
As Theodore Roosevelt put it:
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena… who errs, who comes short again and again… who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly…”
Let’s help children get in the arena. Let’s help them stay there. Grit isn’t just about endurance — it’s about daring to care enough to keep trying.
From Policy to Practice
At the heart of the Positive Education course I run for whole-school staff, grit plays a central role — not just for students, but for the adults around them too. Teachers, support staff, and leaders all benefit from understanding how perseverance, purpose, and compassion can be taught, modelled, and embedded across the school culture.
And when it comes to practical application, it’s not just about individual stories. It’s about everyday practice. Rather than avoiding competition for fear of children losing, we can teach them that losing doesn’t make you a loser, and failing doesn’t make you a failure. These are skills for life — not just for the classroom.
If the government wants schools to teach grit, we have a real opportunity — and a real responsibility. It won’t come from a tick-box curriculum. It will come from how we talk, how we notice, and how we help children reflect on what it means to keep going.
In classrooms and homes across the UK, children are already showing grit — some quietly, some dramatically. Our job is to notice it, name it, and nurture it.
Because it’s not about never falling down. It’s about getting up, learning something, and stepping forward again.
As Nelson Mandela once said:
“Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
We cannot always succeed, but we can pick ourselves up — and dare greatly all over again.
