The long awaited exam results finally arrived for many this week. There have been tears of joy and despair up and down the country – for some the exultation of achieving that 6th form place in the desired school or college, for others the disappointment of being unable to move on with friends and the upset of starting somewhere different.
This morning the post brought hand written envelopes to a particular group of 16 year olds. For most the plop of this missive onto the mat was unexpected, a letter that was completely forgotten. At the beginning of their GCSE studies, the school had added Mindfulness to the timetable – a concept completely lost on many of the 15 year olds particularly the sitting quietly and not letting their minds wander. In an effort to give them some skills to deal with the stresses that might lie ahead during the 2 year course, they were encouraged to learn about emotions, feelings and how to help themselves.
During one session, they were told to sit back and take notice of their current thoughts and feelings – and then to a write a letter to their future 16 year old self to be received just after exam results. I wonder how many of them where accurate in their predictions about their future selves…..not their results, but their mindset, organisation, preparation and plans for the future? If only I had written a letter to my future middle aged self……
This post is part of Linda G Hill’s Stream of Consciousness and was written on Saturday (I promise) with the prompt “notice” – to find out more visit Linda and more SoCS posts here
vely girl is in year 11 at school and will be taking her GCSE esams next summer – and this is the first year of the new exams to be graded 1 – 9 with a new syllabus. I’m not sure how widespread the stress is on a national level, but in her school the homework is being piled upon the girls as the teachers seem a little unsure of what to expect, and a meeting was held with the girls as so many of them are showing signs of extreme stress. I know that some of the parents are also adding to the problems with pressure to revise and one is not allowing her daughter out of the house other than to go to school.
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