Under pressure: is our school system out of date? Lottie John- DAOS

Schools originally came about as a result of the industrial revolution. As the masses moved from the farms and fields of rural England to the smoking metropolises, basic schooling was needed in numeracy and literacy to operate the machinery. Factory owners organised this process to be as efficient as possible, with large class sizes grouped by age and not individual interests or abilities. This allowed them to get the most out of the scholars in the smallest amount of time. You could argue that today’s schools couldn’t be further from their industrial beginnings; but the fundamental idea shaping them has in truth, changed very little. 

Great Britain is the only country in Europe to have major exams at sixteen; a fact unsurprisingly linked to British teens having the worst mental health on the continent. From as young as thirteen the workload begins to build up in preparation for the ‘end goal’. The jam-packed syllabi ensures teachers march from topic to topic teaching only what is written in the textbook; often leaving students struggling behind. Your teen years are never the calmest years of your life either. Already hectic lives are exacerbated by worsening mental health(as mentioned previously), hustle culture and the pressure that society and the media puts on the young people of today. An improved system which relied on various topic tests throughout the year (as well as individual speeches, poems or debates around the subject) would allow more than just a snapshot of the individual to be analysed. Of course that is an idealised view, but a movement towards coursework-based subjects, increased PSHE time and less theory in practical subjects could really benefit the students behind the faceless facade examiners often see. 

The grass always does look greener on the other side, but then, what if it sometimes is? Change can seem daunting, but maybe now is time to address the antiquated reliance on assessments for personal success.