There is life after exams
SO it’s goodbye to carefree schooldays and hello exam season as tens of thousands of kids across the country get ready to sit in silent, dusty halls and have their knowledge scrutinised.
I know this not because our two are eye deep in revision timetables – we’re just about past that stage – but because of the tsunami of articles which have appeared in the media about how to help your child cope with the stress of it all.
With GCSES and A-levels on the horizon, thousands upon thousands of words are being churned out for parents advising them on the best way to navigate the next few tense weeks of clear pencil cases, blue Biros and last minute cramming.
But here’s the thing. It’s not just the kids that need keeping calm.
In my experience mums and dads can be worse than our offspring when it comes to maintaining a lid on the worry and anxiety.
However, unlike the tips for kids about healthy snacks (as if) and early bedtimes (good luck with that), I reckon the advice for parents can be summed up much more succinctly and it’s this:
It will all be OK in the end. Because, however stressful, however many tears are shed, doors slammed and tantrums thrown and however well or otherwise they perform it will, in all probability, turn out just fine.
Pass or fail, kids have a habit of finding their own way through. Life carries on. Nobody dies.
I know this information seems unlikely if you’re reading this on the eve of your 16-yearold’s French oral and you could cut the atmosphere at home right now with a knife.
But trust me, I speak from experience. I’ve been through it. So have all my friends and family. And everyone’s kids, without exception, came out the other side.
Of course we fretted and yes, plans had to be re-calibrated and re-thought; new paths taken, different careers pursued.
There were disappointments and re-thinks.
Some of our kids passed their tests with flying colours. Some failed. Some went on to do A-levels and degrees, some didn’t go to university at all. Some have jobs, some have their own businesses, some went in an entirely different direction and took off abroad or volunteered or pursued hobbies instead of a wage.
But they’re all doing well. They’re happy and healthy. It all worked out.
I understand we live in a succeed-at-all-costs society in which it seems the only way to get on or be deemed successful is to smash a complete set of Grade As. Here in 2022, examinations feel particularly pressurised given the disruption to education our kids have had to endure over the last two years.
And of course it feels like their future is on the line when, in a few months’ time, those results envelopes drop.
But that’s just not true.
Trouble is, you only realise all this once you’ve been through the whole experience and emerge wiser and greyer out the other side.
So keep calm, carry on and remember that the purpose of education isn’t to gather certificates but to replace an empty mind with an open one.
Now that’s success.