Exams finally come to an end!

As I dropped my pen, waited for my paper to be collected and walked out of the exam hall for one last time, an overwhelming sense of elation hit me instantaneously, as I could feel the weight of the past two years lifting from my shoulders. But what was this heaviness being lifted from me?

A-Levels.

Years 12 and 13 are an immensely stressful time in a teenager’s life and it is fair to say that the past three months in particular has been an especially demanding period.

Perhaps three months seems a little excessive in preparation for the five exams I sat this month, but in all honestly, I couldn’t have done any less. A few hundred pages of notes, a dozen pens and nearly a whole black ink cartridge have prepared me with revision tools and practice papers to ensure that I could walk confidently into the exam room knowing I’d worked as hard as I possibly could.

Nevertheless, there have been two things that have managed to knock me down at this challenging time and it is more than likely that at least one or even both have affected other A-Level students across the country.
As I said, I, and all of my friends and fellow students, have abandoned our social lives and locked ourselves indoors to revise incessantly to ensure we can be confident and prepared for anything the exam paper could throw at us. However, there is still the element of the unknown as to what on earth the exam boards may choose to ask. And it is particularly demoralising when they decide to throw you off entirely with complicated and incredibly difficult papers.

I can truthfully say that my German A Level paper is perhaps one of the toughest exams I have ever sat. The two-and-a-half hour exam, complete with listening, reading and writing sections, is difficult regardless of the questions, with a study conducted by Durham University showing languages to be the hardest A Level subjects after Mathematics and the three Sciences. So why do the exam board decide to make it even worse by including such complex vocabulary and structures? It leaves us students disheartened and deflated after months of work, completely unaware as to how well we may have done and worried for two months in anticipation of the impending results.

The second of my knock-backs came in the form of a news story. And once again, Michael Gove has sparked controversy (and irritation). On the morning of an exam, waking up to the news of education reforms in England as a result of ‘easy GCSEs’ is not the most encouraging and uplifting item. This isn’t the first time Gove has angered students, having reported previously that A-Levels are also too easy and how school days should be made longer (click the links to see my previous posts on these stories).

By removing any form of coursework or modular assessment, the Education Secretary is turning exams into a memory test instead of a true assessment of a student’s intelligence and work ability.

Whilst I’ve already sat my GCSEs, the outlandish and unqualified claim that GCSEs are too easy repeatedly vexes me. With no past in education himself, I cannot understand where Gove makes these claims from and it stands solid to me that such decisions should be a democratic matter among the teachers in-the-know.
There will be students currently sitting their GCSEs who will certainly feel discouraged by assertions that the exams, which they have worked incredibly hard for, are too easy and require reformation.

Gove claims that students are currently living in a ‘resit culture’, where it is deemed acceptable for students to try again and again to achieve their target grade, but Gove is no better for repeatedly changing his plans on education reform.

Education Secretary Michael Gove

As I sit and enjoy my first relaxed and stress-free weekend in months, I plea that education ministers make up their mind and stick to a plan on GCSEs and A Levels and soon accept students’ success as nothing more than its face value than deceiving it as a result of easy exams.

I wish all the best of luck to those who still have exams – freedom is just around the corner! You can do it!

Age Limbo – The confusion over the labeling of ‘adult’

For the past two years I've been having the same frustrating conversation every time I step onto a bus. From the age of 16, public transport is quick to classify you as an adult, whereas other areas of society are desperate to wait until you are 18 to permit certain actions.

Currently studying for my A Levels in my final year of school, I step onto the bus in my school uniform. Although we do not have a set uniform, our black skirt-white shirt dress code alongside my 3:30pm daily departure clearly identifies my journey home from school and my involvement in education.

Approaching the bus driver I ask “a single to the bus station please”, or if I’m unfortunate enough to be taking the bus to school in the morning, it’s “a single to Moulsham school please”. If the school uniform didn’t give it away, the ticket to school surely should – I’m a student and should therefore pay an appropriate fare that matches that.

“Is that child or adult?”, I’m asked by the driver. If you have to ask, give me the benefit of the doubt and charge me the more reasonable price – the thought that immediately springs to mind. My conscience and need to be honest kicks in and despite knowing the answer already, I respond “well that depends what a child ticket is classed as”.

‘Under 16’ is quickly snapped back at me; instead of kicking up a fuss, I decide to store my aggravation and pay the extortionate £2.50 adult fare. Although this may not seem too bad, take the bus four times and you’re already paying £10 within the week, when you could be paying a £1.50 child fare instead.

£2.50 Adult Single - The need for student tickets

I appreciate that at the age of 16 it may not be right to be classed as a child, however, it is also not right to be classed as an adult and be forced to pay so much extra, especially if you’re still in full-time education. Within the next few years, it will soon be compulsory to stay in education until you are 18, meaning that there shall be even more students on the bus facing the same dilemma as myself. If we cannot be classed as a child, the bus companies should be forced to introduce a student fare to accommodate for this age limbo between 16 and 18 when it cannot be universally decided whether we are children or adults.

When you consider some of the age limits in place in the UK there are some terrible peculiarities where this age limbo comes into play yet again.

Take driving as an example; you must be 17 before you can start to learn how to drive a car, yet there is no age limit at all to start having flying lessons. It stands solid that flying a plane thousands of feet in the air must surely be more dangerous than driving a car on steady ground with an instructor, so why the confusion over the age guideline?

Another example can be found with the armed forces, whereby at the age of 16, you are eligible to join the army. However, in order to have any involvement in choosing the politicians and government who make decisions about the army, the eligibility to vote is saved for the age of 18. Is it right to be allowed to join an organisation where you are expected to fight for your country and risk your life when you have no right to vote for the political party you believe best supports that organisation?

Much worse things could happen than paying an extra £1 on my bus fare, but the principle behind it is one that correlates to various other life circumstances and therefore needs to be looked at. If everyone under the age of 16 is always a child and likewise, everyone over the age of 18 is always an adult, the middle-ground between is a huge grey area that provides much irritation to the teenagers caught within, especially when it is apparent that it consistently goes against them.