‘The stress and anxiety is immense and the lack of clarity over exams has been hard to cope with’

Restarting school is never easy for any pupil. However this year, especially, I found starting year 14 absolutely terrifying.

Usually, our exams at the end of the year would only count for 60% of our overall grade, but due to the AS exam results being discarded, the first A-level exams that my year all over the country will sit in June will count for 100% of our grade, and ultimately decide where we study next year. It will follow us for the rest of our lives.

The stress and anxiety this notion has caused many young people is immense and the lack of clarity on our exams since the start of the year just heightened the uneasy feeling living inside so many of our students.

Where I’m from in Portadown, I go to a Dickson plan school, Portadown College. This means that my school only accommodates 1418 year olds, making every student either a GCSE or A-level pupil.

It has been very clear to see the amount of pressure that the teachers in my school are under to cover all of the curriculum for the exams whilst also dealing with full year groups being told to isolate. Another aspect of school that has been seriously impacted by the pandemic is the extra-curricular activities.

We have a huge focus on music and pupils really look forward to our annual Rock Concert and House Music competition. Without the buzz of students organising their acts and anticipating who will win, the school almost feels lifeless as this was such a big part of life at Portadown College.

It has been extremely difficult but the resilience of our students is remarkable. We have shown we will get through this all.