Shropshire headmaster calls for extra support for pupils
A Shropshire headmaster has called for a resounding show of extra support for pupils after welcoming their GCSE candidates this week.
Wrekin College headmaster Tim Firth said the school was delighted with how well they had performed.
"These results, like the A-level ones for Wrekin, were at record levels, but so they should be given what we could do here in terms of online lessons and did during the pandemic," said Mr Firth.
But he warned that repeated speculation over grade inflation and calls for reform may well leave employers and universities questioning if they need their own exams to find the best candidates.
This meant schools had to do more to help young people navigate whatever may lie ahead.
Mr Firth said: "After last year's confusion and this year's repeated speculation over grading, I believe any headteacher or parent should be worried that universities and employers understandably might feel they can't trust results given out by schools who are keen to show themselves in their best light, in the same way, that employers might feel they can't trust the degrees coming out of universities who mark their own students."
Wrekin College has held successful employability boot camps for its exam candidates in 2020 and 2021 together with also helping to launch a new Futures MBA, led by university lecturers, focusing on business and workplace skills for 15-18 year-olds across the Telford area.
"So while we need to congratulate our young people for what they have achieved after a very challenging time we also need to look at how we step up our support for pupils going forward and particularly those now looking to sixth form courses," Mr Firth said.
"Schools need to lead the way by showing exams are only a means of opening doors.
"It is time now to focus just as much on self-knowledge in children and cultivate the skills of resilience, adaptability, and employability so that they know which door to go through, be of great use on the other side of it so that they go on to have successful careers.
"We need to teach more than just exams.
"With key life skills in place they will be ready for any potential change to the current system and other hurdles they may face on the path to their chosen career."
