The pressure that the 2023 cohort faces however, is unlike anything experienced by those in previous years. Many external factors, some national and some international, have played into the core education of those taking A-Levels and it is a common sentiment amongst this cohort that the odds have been heavily stacked against us.
Right from compulsory secondary school, the 2023 cohort has experienced tumultuous circumstances concerning their education, the most prominent of which being the coronavirus epidemic that had a firm grip on the world from December 2019 and has only just started to loosen its hold on the world. This epidemic began at a critical time for the current A-Level cohort, as the UK was in the throes of battle with this deadly virus during year 10 and year 11 for us, making us the first year that knew to prepare for teacher assessed grades for GCSEs (the previous cohort had no warning). Words like “portfolio” and “evidence” became commonplace. This was seemingly a positive but simultaneously we had no real exam experience whatsoever.
As if that was not enough, the cohort has also been faced with A-Level teachers striking with the national education union at a critical time as this, with barely a month left of school, and for those studying the International Baccalaureate this was cutting it even closer. When striking, teachers are not obliged to assign work to pupils, and because of this many are behind, having to teach themselves content for their upcoming exams.
With an overwhelming amount of factors that are almost definitely set to affect the 2023 cohort, news of returning to 2019 grade boundaries is understandably daunting. The general consensus amongst the cohort is for fairer and more generous marking, like in Scotland, but we are yet to know if any provision will be made at all.
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