In September, 15-year-old Ami Scott from Solihull started the school year preparing for a schedule of hard work and revision. Now that schools have closed, she, like many of her friends, has been left feeling anxious and wondering what her future holds.
LIKE many 15 and 16-year-olds Solihull schoolgirl Ami Scott was studying for GCSEs when her academic year came to an abrupt halt last Friday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the closure of all schools, colleges and nurseries across England last Wednesday (March 18) as the rate of coronavirus infection increased faster than anticipated. It came as UK deaths reached 104 after a further 33 people died.
As for other Year 11 and Year 13 pupils, the end of the year came three months early – short of taking any exams and missing out on leavers’ assemblies, final award celebrations and Prom.
Ami, aged 15, who attends Alderbrook School, Solihull, is hoping to go onto Stratford-upon-Avon College to study a BTEC in Creative Media and become a journalist.
She has a younger sister Emma, aged 11, and lives with mum Kelly, a trained accountant, and dad John, who owns a Solihull-based marketing company, Mauve.
Ami has written a first-person piece expressing the uncertainty felt by many young people over their education. Here are her thoughts reacting to her school’s closure as penned on Friday March 20 – her very last day of Year 11.
The Unmarkables by Ami Scott, Year 11, Alderbrook School, Solihull
‘It’s been a few days since we received the expected news that after five years of dedication and hard work, our exams have been cancelled.
At first, my initial reaction was heartbreak. After sleepless nights, stress, coursework deadlines and many, many tears it all seemed irrelevant.
Still, at this moment, I am confused and feel simply out of place as this is such a unique situation. It is uncertain what will happen to our grades as we are living in a historic moment (which is insane).
Will there be exceptions? Will we just receive our predicted grades? The uncertainty creates anxiety for many teenagers and I believe that our government will be able to find a way and will make sure that we will get the grades that we deserve and we can carry on with our lives in college when this is all over.
Unfortunately, the cancellation of exams also will possibly mean that the last day, leavers’ assembly, prom and 12 weeks of summer will be cancelled too.
It’s upsetting as most of us have been looking forward to these days for the last five years and it feels like they have been taken away from us.
Of course, there are bigger problems within Covid-19 : many deaths, loss of jobs and the economy collapsing at it’s knees. However, the exam cancellation has become another key ‘disastrous moment’ during this time.
Personally for me and many others, our last moments of school would be that we were oblivious to the fact that we may never walk through those corridors again, may never see our favourite teachers again and will never be able to say our proper goodbyes to our friends at school.
So, here’s to class of 2020: the unmarkables. The most unique academic year we have ever and will see. It ended so quickly and so unexpectedly – and will definitely be a story to tell to our children.
I wish the best for all Year 11’s and Year 13’s during these uncertain and confusing times. It can only get better, our hard work will pay off – even if it takes a while.’
