Congratulations...

So the A levels are out. Grades are up. And the usual whiners are claiming that A levels have got easier. Which is, quite frankly, bollocks. Each year every expert, every examining body, every government commission, assures us that A levels today are equivalent to those of yesteryear. The grades improve for two main reasons. Teaching has improved. No doubts. And a big up to the teachers. And today’s youths just work harder than we did. Yup really. Ok, I was a particularly lazy student. (Not my fault. Its some weird recessive gene, honest). But I don’t recall that any of us worked as hard as today’s students seem to. So congratulations one & all.

But does too much learning make Jack a dull boy? Is it learning subjects at the expense of learning life? Are today’s teenagers missing out? Being seventeen should be fun after all. It surely was for me. I don’t know the answer to that. But here’s a thought. Perhaps Universities should also give points for scout badges. Or some sort of extended Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. A DofE gold being equivalent to a C grade A level maybe. Just to make sure our geniuses are also people.