Categories: uncategorized
Date: 15 August 2012 10:16:06
A Level results day - something that has followed a predictable pattern for me over the last few years. First I write a blog post along the line of this one which has explained the increase in grades, then I find out how the students I've been teaching that year have been doing before going on line to discover how friends children have done and sending the appropriate FB congratulations or commiserations.
This year it's all different. Firstly it's different because the annual clamour for reform of the system from the Telegraph isn't there......instead we have an article on how reform has been introduced to the system this year. There is apparently a new system of calculation which is going to be used which is based upon data about how that cohort has previously achieved as well as the achievement of previous cohorts. It may lead to a dip in achievement - Gove has already warned of this. Todays blog post is not the standard one.
I also feel the need to add into my analysis there has been a greater push on clearing this year which will apparently be including more top universities than usual - according to this Guardian article. Students are always reminded of its importance but this year it has gone into overdrive. One reason for this may be the fact that the Telegraph have got the rights to being the "clearing newspaper" again this year - being the exclusive media partner of UCAS. Whilst I actually quite like the Telegraph, whilst not agreeing with alot of their content, they are not exactly a fluffy lot. Thus their video on clearing which was clearly meant to be reassuring as well as informative was quite a depressing and indeed frightening film which didn't pull any punches about crashed UCAS sites, courses on the clearing list being full by 10am, etc, etc. What it did miss out or perhaps didn't put enough emphasis on was the support you can expect from your school or college in this situation.
This year things are also different because of the new funding systems in place for both students and institutions. As the Guardian article about elite universities entering the clearing fray explained the government has changed the rules so much nobody knows quite what to expect this year - especially in terms of student numbers. It seems unlikely that the usual furore about students who get outstanding grades not being able to get into top universities will be missing from the debate and analysis.
A forth reason things are different for me this year is because I'm facing results day as a parent. The anticipation of the day before is not related to my professional self this year it has gone beyond that and my inner most maternal feelings have surfaced. The feelings of wanting to protect, control and reassure are there stronger than they've probably ever been - but so is the realistic knowledge that whilst I can reassure I have to respect the fact my daughter is a young adult and that whilst I can provide advice I need to let her deal with whatever happens tomorrow herself and make her own decisions on the basis of the information revealed. At the end of the day whatever happens tomorrow I will be proud of her for seeing it through and she knows that.