I'm 17 and have moved to Australia from England. I'm not doing nearly as well now as in England where I achieved A's and A*'s in my GCSE's. It's really getting me down and the teachers are acting like these upcoming exams effect the rest of your life which I find really difficult to believe. Is that true? Does school really effect your future that much?

well if yo uget A on GCSE's and A-levels and if you go to UNi or get a job they will be more pleased to accept you rather than say no.

Not really as much as people say. They are important for self-growth or whatever, but as long as you get good A-levels to get into university (if you decide to), that was enough for me to be honest. I've found the 3 years I've spent at uni far more important for me than spending all those years at a school where I had no friends and was treated like crap by the teachers.
At the end of the day, exams are important for the next stage in your education, but nobody cares that much!

nah it don't i did ok in my exams c's mostley few b's and a few total fails! but i think work experience counts more.

however in some jobs u do need grades just all depends on what u wana do once u leave i sopose. but i wouldnt let it get you down.

Depends on what job you want - if you want one where there's a lot of competition then you won't get picked if your grades are worse than other people's. But maybe if you want to do something creative you won't need as amazing grades in acedemic subjects, or if you want to start your own business it wouldn't be so important, as your not trying to impress an employer so as to get chosen for the job over other people.
But if you were good enough to get As and A*s in England for GCSE I doubt you'll have too much trouble, if you've been working hard. Maybe the average grade in Australia is less, I don't know. Are you good compared to other people? If you are you'll probably be ok.