An ode (of sorts) to Year 11.
Nearly four weeks ago, just an hour away from seeing a performance of “The Seagull” in London with ten Year 11s, the performance was cancelled. Disappointing as it was (the Theatre had given us ten free tickets to use as a rewards trip), disappointment wasn’t the emotion that spread around that large Prezzo’s table.
A strange mix of humour, fear and adventure was what we saw: “Oh well, we can have dessert after all”; “can we go to M&M world?”; “closing the theatres is the start isn’t it?”.
It was the start. Schools closed. Exams cancelled. Movement restricted. Lives and work now organised around Zoom and Teams. Instagram quizzes, 5 o’clock briefings, FaceTime dinner dates. Daily walks/runs where you daren’t stop for fear of being “that guy” who is doing the wrong thing. Parents home schooling, students home working, teachers home marking! And for some - far too many - this “new normal” is operating in the backdrop of family members who are unwell, some seriously.
It’s hard. But time and time again my thoughts over the past few weeks have been coming back to Year 11. I didn’t get to say goodbye to my two classes properly. On the final Wednesday before schools closed I developed a cough and couldn’t come back. A fleeting phone call to both classes the next day was all I got.
So this is a bit of an ode to all Year 11, many of whom will be feeling a little lost right now. What have you been working towards? How can you prove your worth if there are no exams to show off your hard work? How will you prove yourself in years to come against others who did their exams the “right way”?
The truth is, and always has been, that you are more than the sum of your parts.
Nowhere in the two iterations of the Winston Way that I have seen since being at the school have I seen “prepare students and spoon feed them education until they can pass an exam”. Education for you guys has always been more than that.
From English alone you will take invaluable skills into your future that no exam result could alter. The ability to communicate effectively both verbally and on paper. An analytical and critical mind that can accept and battle through any challenge put to you. An evaluative mindset that challenges things, rather than accepts outright what has been put to you. Resilience, independence, collaboration.
You are more than the sum of your parts. You are more than the sum of your exams.
You will have the chance to prove yourself in that exam setting. Post-16 education and training will come and you will prove yourself in all the ways you can and want to. For now, embrace what is happening. Read some books. Spend time with family. Catch up on some Netflix series. Learn a new skill. Bake. Cook. Spend some time learning new things about yourself. The pace of life will come back to normal.
There will be exams. There will be Proms, even if they’re your A Level ones. There will be results days. For now, We want you to know that we are proud. Proud of the people you have become over the past two years. Proud of your resilience and fortitude. Proud of your humour. Proud of you.
Every Friday morning during Form I’d see almost 10% of the year group for intervention. Many more of you were going to other English sessions. Many many more of you went to intervention sessions for all the other subjects around the school. Just because exams are cancelled does not mean this was wasted time. Skills were developed, critical thinking was enhanced. Your dedication to your studies and to yourselves was clear.
You will get your results. You will have earned your results.
You are still more than the sum of your parts.
Regards,
Mr G Collins
Head of English
The Winston Churchill School
