Congratulations to all those who took their A-levels this year. Every pupil should be proud that they took some of the first public exams to be sat in the UK in three years.
If you don’t know a child who was studying for GCSEs or A-levels during the pandemic, it must be difficult to appreciate the pressure, stress and feelings of helplessness they experienced.
One of my nieces did her GCSEs last year, so her results were based on teacher assessments. She got good grades but feels “short changed,” because she did not sit the actual exams so fears her results are meaningless.
Many young people are experiencing these psychological after-effects.
But I don’t think society is paying them much attention.
Now the A-level results are published, the analysis will begin. Grades will be compared with previous years, independent schools will be compared to state schools, the performance of girls, boys and ethnic minorities will be measured.
And rightly so. We need to know how the nation is performing.
But I believe we should also measure the mental state of our children – their happiness.
If we don’t tap into their personal growth and teach them real-life skills, we will be churning out brilliant young minds that only get so far in life before they burn out.
To pursue results only is detrimental to our society.
In the big wide world after school, a student with perfect A stars, but low self-esteem and a lack of purpose, just won’t do as well as one who is confident and wants to make things happen, despite getting poor academic grades.
As a parent and a school governor I am invested in education. It was key to helping me to move out of poverty and better myself.
But the degrees, jobs, holidays and all the other symbols of success did not bring me personal happiness.
And having drive without feeling happy, and ignoring the signs that you feel empty inside, leads to a deep sense of failure and, in turn, mental health issues.
A Children’s Society report last year said: “A number of children have not coped well with the pandemic.” And it added: “Unhappiness at this stage can be a warning sign of potential issues in later teenage years.”
I believe we must encourage our kids to pursue subjects they enjoy and show them how to cope with stress.
Schools should teach happiness and wellbeing as a science. Because it is a science.
We must reinforce the idea that happiness is personal and can’t be graded against someone else’s – as A-level results can.
