At a school where exam results really do matter, I would argue that although exams are a pretty good test of your memory and perhaps even your knowledge of the specific facts of a subject, they can never truly capture our full intellect.

Ironically, it was my English controlled assessment that first caused me to consider this. The exam system (I can only really judge GCSE level) does seem to be predominantly based upon how much information you can cram into your brain and then regurgitate onto a test paper, and I’m not sure that this really translates into an indication of your suitability for your chosen field. While it could be said that exams are at least a measure of your commitment to memorizing the facts, I think it’s impossible that this style of assessment can truly display the qualities most valuable to an employer.

For example, if you wanted to enter in to childcare, at least at GCSE level and the GCSEs we do at my school, there isn’t a way to display your kind and caring nature, practicality and ability to work around mess and screaming children. You will be judged on your GCSE grades (needing 5 A*-Cs to get into college even if the children you want to care for can’t speak yet!).

Even if you don’t need exams to get your dream job, the labels placed upon you at school (“bottom set maths,” “low target grades”) affect you for life. It’s always a blow to know that you are not capable of something, you are physically unable to achieve an A* grade because you “just aren’t smart enough”.

It’s great to be amazing at schoolwork! Getting excellent grades and having worked hard for them can be a truly fulfilling experience, but I think that this is only one part of a whole realm of other achievements that should also be celebrated. It strikes me as bizarre that so much of the formative years of our lives are directed solely toward academic achievement, when many people excel in other fields. For example, you may be amazing at manual work, sports or art, but for you these are perhaps only one hour out of your week. Perhaps all these individual skills should be given equal importance in the curriculum, considering that many pupils will later follow these up as a career. 

All in all, I believe that exams should be directed more towards your individual skills and qualities (including memorizing facts, if that’s your thing!). It’s hard to imagine the logistics of a system that could do this, but to reject change for good because the other option is easier seems to me a failure of a whole different kind.

Anna Coupland, Wallington High School for Girls.