Adults in Britain have very little faith in teenagers. Levels of trust have gone down to below sea level and there is very little respect between the two generations. Signs adorn the doors of shops with the words “No more than ____ school boys/girls at a time” and newspaper headlines inform us that the exams are too easy and we don’t deserve the grades we achieve.

As members of our Sixth Form we are allowed to wear our own clothes (provided that they follow the dress code) and therefore once we are outside school, it is difficult to mistake us for schoolchildren. One time my two friends and I walked into a shop in the local shopping centre. Suddenly we found ourselves being ushered out by a sales assistant who was telling us that she was not permitted to allow schoolchildren into her shop. We decided that it might be because some students are still at school at this time and we left without making a fuss.

A few minutes later the same assistant left her shop again to explain that she was just following the rules. We smiled politely, however one of my friends who was still confused about the situation stated that we were sixth formers. The woman stared at us and said “Oh well I assumed…” and then explained that she thought we were schoolchildren who would be up to no good.

This attitude is horrendous! The assumption that all teenagers are criminals is creating divisions in our society and is above all - unfair.