SEN or not, we're not testing our young people on what matters

So, GCSE results day rolls around once more.

A day when, whether you’re on board with the system or not, every 16 year old gets judged. By how much they’ve revised, by how much they’ve applied themselves, but also, for factors completely beyond their control.

By the kind of brain they were born with that, however creative, original, intuitive or kind, isn’t valued by a western education system. By how well supported and stable their life is and by how well they performed in a particular two-hour-period on a particular day, no matter what else might have been going on in their lives at the time.

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SEND and (the current state of) mainstream education don’t mix

As I wrote on social media on results day about my son, Oliver, who is autistic and has ADHD and OCD and for whom school has been a struggle every step of the way – not because he’s stupid, but because school – western style – overwhelms him. Because lessons aren’t taught in a way that works for his brain, because 1,800 other young people in one place – with all their associated sounds, smells and sensations – causes sensory overload to such an extent that he can’t think about anything else…

As a result, he wasn’t able to make it through a single full school lesson during his GCSE years, so even just taking four GCSEs – which still involved him having to sit ten exams – was something of an achievement.

This is what my social media post said on results day:

“So proud of this kid - and all the kids like him - for whom GCSE results are a dim reflection of who they are and all they’ve achieved.

So proud of him for keeping on going, doing his best and refusing to be beaten by an education system not only not designed for him but which very nearly broke him. Others aren’t so lucky.

The biggest of thank yous to the wonderful people who made school bearable - and even fun sometimes! And who ensured Theo left mainstream education with his self-esteem intact. The British education system needs more like you.

So, whatever your exam results, to all those neurodivergent kids out there battling through systems that allow others to excel while they give it everything they’ve got and still can’t hope to reach the standards the world holds up as ‘success’, you’re amazing. Keep being you.

And to all the kids who have achieved great exam results, you’re amazing too. The world needs us all.”

And, in a world where we have an ever-increasing army of machines to remember, regurgitate, analyse and calculate, thank god for minds that create, diverge, entertain and inspire – whatever their exam results say.