Head says there’s too much focus on exams
‘THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS A CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM’
A NOTTINGHAMSHIRE head teacher wants less focus on exams.
Dr John Price is the head at Worksop College, which has already scrapped SATS for its Year Six pupils.
The independent school, which educates children from reception age up to sixth form, taught cricketers Samit Patel and England captain Joe Root.
Dr Price says now is the right time for a “rethink” on examinations due to Covid-19’s impact on schoolchildren’s mental health.
He said: “The most important thing for me is a child’s self-esteem and self-worth and confidence.
“With everything young people are going through at the moment, the mental health pressures on them, happiness and wellbeing is going to be really important.
“I’m a great believer that every child has got a talent, and it’s our job to find it.
“That’s what education is about and I’ll be honest I think we’ve lost sight of it.
“I think the academic side of things has taken complete and utter focus.
“I’m not saying it isn’t important – but it’s not the be all and end all.”
He added: “I’m not a believer in testing for testing’s sake. That’s not to say we don’t monitor and track our pupils here – we do an IQ test essentially, which identifies strengths and weaknesses in certain pupils and makes sure those weaknesses are improved and that every child reaches their potential. I care about young people – the pressure on them is making it very difficult.”
He says two sixth-form boys who had to isolate for ten days told him how excited and happy they were to be “back in this family”.
Then, after they socialised with a boy who later tested positive, Dr Price had to ring them the same evening and tell them to isolate again.
He said: “The impact on the kids is huge – it’s absolutely massive. They have no idea what is going on – they’re trying their best in a very difficult situation. They don’t know whether their exams are going to go ahead or not. There’s complete uncertainty around that.
“My Year 11s are sitting their mock maths exams now and I’ve just said to them to just do the best they can. And that’s all they can do – because they’re in complete limbo which is of course compounding matters in terms of their mental wellbeing.”
The college has one-on-one sessions with every student to try and make sure they are coping at school and at home.
The college believes future employers are now looking for more than just exam results and offers extra curricular activities and courses, such as sign language classes to develop pupils’ “emotional intelligence”.
“There is an opportunity now for us to be looking at our syllabus and curriculum and the way we assess young people,” Dr Price continued.
“I think this is an obvious time to be looking at it. We have to try to make sure, after the incredibly difficult situation regarding university admissions and results last year, that we have to find the best way of assessing them.
“I certainly think all this provokes a debate. There is a generation here where their wellbeing and selfesteem and self-worth we have to think about very carefully.”