Here we go again

When we finished school for the summer, I put my bag away in the corner of my office at home and promised myself I wouldn't go near it till today. I, like so many of my colleagues, was utterly exhausted as a result of a very demanding, high pressure year with the added emotional strain that the loss of our colleague, Geoff, placed on us all. It lingered, it hurt and frankly, it still does.

However, having kept my promise to myself and having said "No" when asked to do work related stuff prior to today, I feel that I am ready to start the ball rolling.

Tomorrow and Thursday are big days at school. Tomorrow is the preparation and background work for providing our former students with their GCSE results on Thursday.

Today has involved a number of texts from the Boss discussing arrangements and my spitting my dummy out at the computer when I read an article from a 'respectable' newspaper which is already dismissing the, as yet unpublished, achievements of the students who will collect their results on Thursday. I rant every year - this year will be no different, but like the newspapers, I am getting it done early.

The burden of pressure on students these days is phenomenal. It is compounded by the frequently moving boundaries which the Government of the day puts in place. Changes to curriculum are brought in and league tables (pffffffft) include measures against those changes immediately - in the last two years, students have been measured against targets that didn't exist when they were in school and sitting their exams, but were imposed after the fact.

But to students, these are not the pressures. The pressures come from the top down - Government to Leadership teams first. Targets are set and hoops are unfolded and we have to jump through them otherwise, no school, no job. So in turn, despite every attempt to manage and be fair, people like myself guide, instruct and delegate responsibility to excellent middle managers who, in turn, manage and lead their colleagues in order to maximise the opportunities and outcomes for students. Students who have the pressure of all of those layers of adults pushing them to achieve, to do the best that they can.

Students, in my school at least, are supported very well. They are guided, encouraged, given feedback, advised about how they can improve. They are taught well, they are not simply learning facts, but are learning to think, to solve problems, to lead, to manage themselves. They are supported intensively to enable them to improve their standards of literacy and numeracy and in all subjects, we strive to make sure that all of our students achieve above and beyond what statistical targets say they can achieve.

This is all done fairly, with no 'cheating' and most importantly, with a clear understanding of who our children are and where their strengths and aspirations lie.

So, on Thursday, when they get their results, it will be a case of they have what they deserve. The vast majority have worked hard, valued their school and been valued members of a community that is more than the bricks and mortar and other material items.

We will celebrate with them, not because we might or might not meet externally set targets, but because they are our children and their success should not be dismissed as "exams are getting easier" or "schools are manipulating course choices" to enable students to get the grades. There is nothing more satisfying in this job than seeing the fear of opening the envelope turn into utter surprise and joy when the piece of paper in their hand turns into a key that opens a door into the next stage of their journey.

That look, that moment - worth more than any targets being achieved - it's what teaching is really about.

So, to all out there who will be quick to dismiss, to lament the decline in standards and to wax lyrical about the days when we sat in rows, learned by rote and were punished in ways I'd rather not think of, I would ask you just to consider this -

If it was YOUR child collecting their results and a teacher said to them

"Oh that's a nice set of results Jonny, but you do know it wasn't anything to do with your work in the last 5 years - it was just the exams were really easy this year"

would you be happy with that? Would you let someone dismiss their achievement and deny them their moment of self belief and success? I don't think so.

So therefore, why is it OK to already start this process in the media with 200,000+ students who have yet to get their envelope?