Thursday 13 August
There is a real anger bubbling inside our household today just as the thunder clouds bubble up outside. The heat and humidity are pouring fuel on to both.
The A-level results have come out today for England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Scottish students received theirs last week. The anger building stems from the fact that nearly 40% of teacher assessments were down-graded particularly based mainly on the premise of the school or colleges previous grades. So, where you are from, and therefore what local sixth-form provision you attend, your grades will have been ‘adjusted’ accordingly. Students abilities are not being fairly represented, social demographics are instead impacting on your achievements.
This just underlines the governments approach to a) a sustained lack of promoting social mobility and b) it’s belief in the teachers’ professional knowledge of their students and their subject. It stinks. To add further resentment and anger, the percentage of highest grades has gone up at private schools to the detriment of the state sector. There is no better proof of a tiered system of maintaining a large sub-class of young people (who will become working adults, and eventually become pensioners) who right from the start have a battle on their hands to get ahead. The odds are stacked against them from the start.
I hope people, particularly young people, become angry over this. We have said to our two kids today, work harder than ever before, get the qualifications you deserve, obtain positions of influence and change the system which is so obviously unfair and elitist. It’s clear that if you can afford it, you can buy yourself up the ladder. Adora gets her GCSE results a week today and Stan sits his A-Level exams next summer.
Earlier in the week I found a Goldfinch feather on the lawn. It is small, around 6cm long, and is sheer perfection. It is at the top, alongside the Kestrel feather, as a favourite in my collection. The clean lines and that flash of yellow contrasting with the black and white make it quite striking.
The sun lantern in our family room downstairs is becoming a frustrating trap for insects galore at the moment. The doors and windows are wide open all day due to the hot weather and all manner of winged beasts fly in and try to leave through the glass panes. Sadly, whilst clearing off the insect debris of flies from the ledge that sits under it I found this incredible female Southern Hawker dragonfly.
The Bald Birder 