Ella Gilbert
How has it already been two years since we first entered a lockdown? This week, it was announced that Gavin Williamson, former education secretary, will be awarded a knighthood. As one of the many, many students who suffered during the exam crisis, and the continuing fallout in education, this feels like a slap in the face.
The world is gradually moving towards something that more closely resembles our pre-pandemic world. However, education has been neglected from the Covid-19 damage control efforts. This time last year, I wrote an article reflecting on my experience a year on since the cancellation of exams. Another year has passed, and yet students are still being failed by the education system.
My Experience Since Exam Cancellations
Whenever I reflect on my sixth form experience, my memories are tainted by the abrupt ending that caused disaster and stress for so many. Aside from the initial chaos of exam cancellations and the grading U-turn, the whole ordeal has had a lasting impact on my education. My second year of university is running away, but I am still yet to sit any formal exams since GCSEs.
Students are now entirely unprepared for any examinations or assessments. Most cannot remember their last set of exams, and would not know how to prepare for such an event. Furthermore, we are used to exams being constantly cancelled or moved online, so in-person exams hardly seem a possibility these days.
How Do Current A-Level Students Feel?
The current year 12 and 13 students have been left with an education nightmare that is not being properly addressed. I spoke to Cerys Jones, a year 13 student, about the struggles of going into exams with a disrupted education and the impact it has on students.
Current sixth-form students will have never sat a formal exam series, which, combined with the bouncing between lockdowns, has caused a great deal of stress for students. Updated information on exam content was released in February, just three months before exams commence. The aim of this was to make up for disrupted teaching by reducing content. However, the details have varied significantly by subject, making it a “lottery in terms of how useful it is to each student.”
“Technical issues were hilarious until you remembered that if a question came up on that topic in your A-levels, your teacher’s audio had been breaking up the entire time.” – Cerys Jones
Isolations and uncertainty have dominated education over the last two years with minimal adjustments to support students. There is no room for technical difficulties or an off-day when you could be sent into isolation at any moment, which Cerys reports has had “a really detrimental effect on [her] mental health”. As we move towards a “Living with Covid” plan, it seems that students are expected to just deal with the education aftershocks of the last two years by themselves.
As well as all their missed studies, students going into exams this year have watched other years face last-minute changes, U-turns, and heartbreak. Previous years had the advantage of a range of assessment grades and a less interrupted education, whereas current exam pupils know all too well that they do not have that safety net. They have seen the heartbreak and unfair treatment of students in years above them, and now have to go into exams not knowing what Results Day might hold. A huge amount of pressure has been placed on students, while their grades might be decided by something above their control.
“2020 perfectly showed that the contingency plans were made up on the spot when [exams] had to be cancelled and it ended up a complete disaster” – Cerys Jones
Will The Education System Recover?
Schools have not been set up well for the coming years. Curriculums are based on laying foundations in earlier years and building on top of the basic skills each year. Children of all ages have missed out on vital growth, and we will not see the full extent of the damage for many years to come. All aspects of society have been challenged throughout the pandemic.
While Williamson is not solely responsible for the chaos and upset caused by cancelling exams, awarding him a knighthood is a kick in the teeth to all students and teachers. The handling of exams and online education has caused nothing but stress to schools across the country. It just seems there are so many more deserving people, like the teachers and support staff that have dealt with the distressed students and unfair government decisions.
Education over the last two years has been nothing but stressful, and shows no signs of changing soon. It has been going from problem-to-problem without any substantiated plans. Gavin Williamson and the Department for Education should be delivering students a series of apologies and clear future plans rather than visiting the Queen to receive a knighthood.
Featured image courtesy of Joshua Hoehne via Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
Ella Gilbert
Ella is History and Spanish student at the University of Sheffield. She is the social media manager for Empoword and a keen writer for various publications. When not writing or studying (which is far more often than she'd like to admit), you can find her exploring the outdoors, going out for drinks with friends, or in bed with Netflix and TikTok.