Ever since lockdown, everyone has been severely affected, especially students. As a Year 13 student who is doing A-Levels next year, I feel the need to speak out about how the government has completely neglected my year group. We have missed out on vital education time as well as teacher support due to lockdown, but we have not gotten any help from the government. The government are considering reducing A-Level content or delaying exams but that will not make up for the 6 months of school lost. This is the most important year of our lives, preparing for university as well as adulthood, yet we are being completely forgotten.

Our mental health has deteriorated a lot due to all the stress of catching up with work and trying to balance education with personal issues that COVID-19 has caused. I insist that the government cancel A-Levels 2021, and come up with a proper system in which we can be given an accurate representation of our ability (not computer generated grades), whether it be predicted grades or something else, so that we do not get under predicted and we will not have our mental health deteriorate further from the stress of completing exams. This way it will be fairer for us to get an accurate grade that represents our ability, and concerns over under predictions will not be an issue this time round. 

Just because we are back to school does not mean we are getting a full education; teachers may have to self-isolate due to COVID-19 symptoms and the same goes for students, hence we cannot do exams when we are not being given a proper education with all the help we need. Even though schools are trying their best to support us, we do not know the future of how COVID-19 will affect us; risking our lives to do exams in great numbers as well as the stress and possibility of another lockdown will not be fair to current Year 13s. 

Please help spread this petition so our voices can be heard! 

Thank you.