I hope your family enjoys success on GCSE results day, but don’t define ‘success’ too narrowly

I still remember GCSE results day (25+ years on). The feeling in my stomach, the ‘what ifs’ charging around my head. My worry about what my parents might say, the excitement at the reward I might get and the fear of what my Grandad would say about my English result…

I’m privileged to have had access to education, a relatively stable home life and a brain that is wired in a way that meant I could learn enough in school to pass my exams.

I believe our education system, though highly advanced in many ways, still defines ‘success’ too narrowly. Success at 16 means an ability to demonstrate specific knowledge in a specific way at a specific time. Someone’s ability to do that depends on SO much else. I love the things that circulate on social media at this time of year that remind us that GCSEs (and any test) don’t measure the kind of friend you are, how much you persevered, the progress you’ve made. It doesn’t measure your ability in a potentially vast array of other areas not covered by a curriculum currently delivered in most high schools. These messages are counter cultural in a society where the pressure on school students has never been greater and the expectations never higher.