Gifts not grades: Recognising every young person’s God-given talents

The summer term in schools means different things to different ages of children and young people. For some it is the term of sports day, end of year shows, outdoor PE lessons and being allowed to play on the school field. For our older ones this term brings very different events ahead; this is the term of exams, and all that they bring with them.  

Many of our teenagers will have some sort of ‘school exam week’ this term, but for some those exams are a national event – SATs, GCSEs and A-Levels. Thankfully these days many schools keep SATs lower key than they used to be, although children still practice for them in school and might have concerns about them. GCSEs, A-Levels and other vocational courses that end in the summer term, however, bring with them significantly more pressure.

As parents it can be very easy to find ourselves carried along with the messages from school regarding revision schedules, exam preparation, expectations and so forth, and of course we want to encourage our young people to do the best that they can, but we also can remind them to look at what they are doing through a biblical lens.