Day: July 5, 2015

As I approach the abandoned school building, it looks surprisingly decrepit. From a distance, the brick structure is ancient and worn. The edifice has taken a beating. The rain is falling heavily with huge force and the raindrops are like sharp spikes shooting in my face. The wind buffets me, pushing me from side to side, making me lose my balance. I keep moving forward into the deluge.

I see a gateway. Slowly walking up to it straining my eyes from a distance, I see cracks in the door; maybe it had been hit with a bullet or a blunt object- it’s hard to tell. I notice the door half-open. The jagged glass in the inside door shows a hole which automatically catches my attention. As I peak through the bullet hole, I see a shadow quickly disappearing down the corridor. I decide to enter as I cannot move my eyes onto anything else. Almost like a curious drive which gave me the feeling that I must go in. As I step into the huge dark blue door that towers above me, my heart beats with much more emphasises as I quiver at the sight of anything. As I measure my steps forward into the corridor, the darkness wraps around me as I was trembling with fear.

A loud bang. The front door slams shut behind me. Empty drink cans and crisp packets lie scattered across the floor glinting in the flickering dim light that only just reveals the path to the staircase. Nervously, I walk towards the side stairs trying not to alert anyone. A sense of trepidation almost overwhelms me. I become frantic and my nerves jangle as I hear the clattering and rattling of stainless rooftops as they slam to the ground. As I walk towards the sound, the lights stutter off and on. I feel a cold rush of air blast past my face. As I walk through the unlit corridor, I hear the creak of many doors as the wind plays tricks on my mind. The rain pounds down with huge beatings sounding out my hearing.

As I enter room 205, I am startled by the crazy disorganization of the room. Abruptly paralysed, I am barely able to move any part of my body. My movements freeze. The force of the wind has complete dominance over the classroom: double-glazed windows are shattered, old chrome chairs lie broken; ruined, magenta violet curtains billow out, gold tables are tossed all over the place. The black and grey classroom seems almost shadow like with its thick swirling mist. The cold and eerie sensation of the room makes the hairs on my body stick up and a massive shiver cascades down my spine. A rapid trembling motion convulses me as the sinister and ghostly atmosphere closes in. My stomach turns, making me suspicious of everything-even the long lost teacher’s mug looks sinister. My fear became a poison within me.

Suddenly, I hear the faintest of screeches behind me: a scare, a suspicion, a horror. It sounds like footsteps. I strain my ears to try and hear in which direction the noise is coming from. I turn around in total anxiety. I walk slowly towards the door. As I turn right, I quiver like a terrified animal. The lights spasm on and off as I creep down the corridor.

All at once, I see blood dripping down the stairs. Anxiously, I track the blood. It leads me through the science corridor. Unblinkingly, I keep following the dripping blood, thinking it may take me somewhere. After stumbling blindly from corridor to corridor, my physical state tells me I can’t walk any further, but my mind tells me I have to keep going.

In an instant, another screech faintly behind me completely immobilizes me. Somehow I swivel around to see what is behind me. As I slowly do so, realising my slim chance of staying alive, a shadow flashes before my eyes. I dive down to the exit.

All of a sudden, the lights turn off. The pips scream out, ricocheting through my brain like gunshots. I look left and right, wondering which direction is closest to the exit. I turn left……………………………………………………..

Personification or metaphor.

The number of GCSE exams should be reduced significantly in order to save the fragile minds of young students: pressure on the shoulders of teenagers to revise and do well in exams is incredibly stressful and can lead to eating disorders, self-harm and suicidal tendencies.

Thousands of pressurised students, who are not fully ready to take an exam, must prove what they have learned to faceless examiners. Those who fail are left to shrivel in the world, only to be taunted for not meeting perverted expectations.

From current experiences of my own, exams deteriorate us and oppress our lives. They distort our everyday routine into a never ending cycle of revising and reiterating for an exam. This pressure, put on still developing teenage minds, gives the student one choice under the stress leading to the examination. If you do well, you are fine. But with the ever-changing mark scheme it’s increasingly difficult to succeed. Students who fail may completely lose their self-confidence, feeling like they ruined their one last chance to shine. It’s soul-destroying, as well as exhausting, having to prepare for an examination when the end result may seem almost fatal.

The compulsion from our teachers and parents to do well in our exams can be seen as a form of brainwashing. Students are harassed by the amount of homework, coursework and assessments that they have. The load is relentless.

Coercing stressed pupils to do well at exams is putting their mental health at risk. Specialists say eating disorders, self-harm and even suicidal tendencies are some of the consequences as pupils struggle to cope with the enormous need to succeed. This is why I passionately feel exams should be reduced: many teenagers just can’t cope with the workload. Dr Deema Sihweil (clinical psychologist) has said, “Students are experiencing more levels of stress, anxiety, depression, fear, hopelessness and rage than ever. Exam time can be painful for so many”. Teenagers want to do well for themselves, but at the same time feel the need to assuage the aspirations of those around them.

We need to ask ourselves what skills these exams are teaching us. How will regurgitating facts and figures help teenagers get a job in the real world? Instead of these useless skills, we need to be focusing on abilities such as practical skills, debating skills and advanced coding to cope with the digital world we inhabit now. London is a key part of the digital economy which means we need to adapt what we teach our students. For example, in Germany they teach a range of digital vocational skills and they have one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the world.

Students do not have the same mind-set as adults. Some are coping with exam anxiety by skipping meals and drinking alcohol. Suzie Hayman  (spokesperson for Family Lives) has said that exams can cause conflict in families and crises of confidence in young people. Teenagers’ confidence drops when they feel they are not getting any support from those around them or they feel failure is on the horizon.

In 2010 and 2011, a children’s mental health group received 6,332 calls to its helpline. Of these, 884 calls were from young people aged 16 and 17; 39% were about exam stress. This shows that teenagers are struggling to come to terms with pressure about the whole situation. Parents are suffering too when they are made aware that their kids are struggling psychologically.

Overall, in my opinion, exams should be reduced as teenagers are literally killing themselves to relieve the pressure. Parents are left to suffer the consequences of the unfortunate death.

The Government should reduce the amount of exams students have to face in order to keep them satisfied. I do understand that pressurised assessments are part of life and we need to prepare students for it, but at this point in time it has gone too far. One alternative to exams is e-portfolios – this way students are not pressured to do well. E-portfolios are one way to help. They are ideal for supporting coursework and end-of-course assessments. This way, a student’s work can be assessed, graded and given feedback. This doesn’t put pressure on them as they can research in depth, polish and improve their work over a period of time. Teenagers can work at their own speed, making it a relaxing and meaningful experience.

In conclusion, I feel reducing exams will bring much relief for teenagers. The mental health issues are the most dangerous ones. Society needs to give teenagers the best possible chance of success in unprecedentedly difficult and challenging times.