English GCSE results decline
Originally posted by Peter Inson at 00:00, August 24 2012
What goes up must come down – only examinations controlled by politicians would follow the law of gravity.
Do not allow yourselves to be troubled by the hue and cry – I’m writing this the day after the release of GCSE results. While important, the English language exam, is only the first of many assessments that are made of us as we go through life and sixteen year-olds have a lot more to do. In another sixteen years’ time we will want to know how they are turning out as employees, in business, as partners, as neighbours, as parents, as people. These are things that matter.
Failing an exam is not the end of the world; at sixteen I failed O-level English literature. Later I was offered a place at Cambridge to read English – I had re-taken English Literature at twenty-six. Soon I was marking the one examination that I had failed at school.
Parents can help children to read well and discuss all sorts of topics and give them time to think about their answers. They can point that adult life requires us to take responsibility for ourselves and expects us to keep trying even if at first we do not succeed.