Dear Mr. Williamson, 

My name is Rohit Menon, and I am now one of many. One of the many students affected by the coronavirus. One of the many that you haven’t heard about in the local news yet. As a background: I sat my A-levels for the first time during Summer 2019, on results day I was beyond unhappy with my results. Despite having been offered a place for an alternative course, I decided I would resit my exams in the following year. I didn’t want to have bad grades haunting me when I went on to do job applications ; nor did I want to go to a university to do a course that I knew I wouldn’t enjoy, so I chose to wait. Come summer 2020 I watched Boris Johnson talk about cancelled A-levels exams and students who would have to go to uni based on predicted grades. I waited for him to finish talking about schools and move on to private students, here’s the thing: he never did. 

I frantically googled and saw other students like me worrying about what our next steps were and what would happen to us. Naturally this was a disadvantage, but even more so to students whose schools were not willing to cooperate. The response I got from Ilford County High School was that they could not help. As a private candidate - despite getting predicted grades for my UCAS application they couldn’t do anything for me. So I called up the University I had been offered a place at and they stated that without A-levels results they couldn’t help me. I thought nothing else could go wrong but it did. 

I watched as everyone talked about students results and what would happen next. Instead of studying, I spent weeks on end trying to email and talk to my college, to try and reason with them. It didn’t work. When October exams were announced I felt unprepared - mentally and physically- to sit exams. 16 years of education has not taught me how to study for exams - that i didn't even know would take place - in the midst of a pandemic. 

In light of all of this, it was beyond clear to me how little consideration was being given to private students, many of whom who had already lost a year. There was little relevant information available for us online and even lesser support given to us. Everyone I called used the word ‘unprecedented’ and while I can appreciate there is no other word to describe what we’re going through, I also don’t believe that it is my job to figure it out. I believe that as a 19 year old, I should be able to rely on the government - local and national- to provide me with answers/support during unprecedented time. I should be able to rely on them to not over look me. 

By the end of this, I will have spent a total of 4 years completing my A levels, I will be 20 years old when I go to university. My problem is not with my age, though there will be a domino effect of problems that this will create re: having a ‘normal’ uni experience, making friendships, and jobs after. My problem is with the way I, and other students in the same position as me, have been treated. Schools should not have been allowed to use loopholes in order to avoid giving us results and the government should have done better to make provisions for students who are disadvantaged. I believe that there is still time to right this wrong.

What's next for us? How can you right your wrongs? I demand the right to be heard and considered.