Kate writes a bi-weekly column for the Burton Mail. This column was originally featured in the 11th August print edition.
Despite exams having to be suspended again earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, A-Level & vocational students on Tuesday, and GCSE students today, will be apprehensively nervous about results day.
Those nerves are feelings that we have all felt but this year’s cohort of students, like last years, will have the added suspense having had the final part of their formal education impacted by the global pandemic and the disruption that caused to their learning.
Due to that disruption, it would not have been right for exams to go ahead this year and teacher assessments with rigorous checks provided a fair reflection of what students have achieved. Teachers know their students best and have been able to draw on a range of evidence to determine the grades of their pupils. I have visited many of our local secondary schools since they reopened, and I have always been struck about how determined pupils and their teachers have been about ensuring they leave school with the knowledge and qualifications they have worked so hard for.
This past year has also created more uncertainty for some about what they want to do next and I would stress also to those that didn’t do as well as they would have liked, that there are many options available to them. Whether going off to college or university, getting an apprenticeship or going straight into the workplace, each of these can lead to a fulfilling and rewarding career. I would encourage those that are still unsure about their next step to get in touch with the National Careers Service who will be able to provide advice and maybe give some ideas about what might interest them.
Whatever the young people who have received results this week in Burton and Uttoxeter decide to do next, I want to wish them all the very best of luck and once again say a huge thank you to their teachers who have done a phenomenal job over the past 18 months in the most challenging of circumstances.
