The Alleynian 708 2020

THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY

AYEAR CUT SHORT OPINION, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES

AT LEAST WE KNOW THAT THE TEACHERS IN CHARGE OF DETERMINING OUR GRADES CAN ASSESS US MORE ACCURATELY THAN A TWO- HOUR-LONG EXAM PAPER CAN

OPINION, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES

The abrupt end to their school careers came as a shock to the Upper Sixth, says Leo Tidmarsh (Year 13)

GRADE EXPECTATIONS

E ven those blessed with 20/20 vision failed to spot what 2020 had in store for the class of 2020. Precariousness was the overwhelming sensation of the Lent term for my peers and me. Given that we had never imagined that this would be our last term, most of us in the Upper Sixth were more concerned with A-level revision than with trying to draw together our memories of our time at the school. Having been at the College since I entered DUCKS at the age of two, and having seen my two brothers progress through the school to Year 13, I have witnessed several previous year groups’ rites of passage, notably Leavers’ Day. A few ideas had already been exchanged about the occasion amongst members of our year group, and our minds were also starting to turn towards the various traditions awaiting us: prize giving, final assemblies, farewells and proms. In summary, the rest of the year was curving up towards the climax of exams – followed by the fireworks of relaxation and release after months of stress. Most of us were already about to burst. As it turned out, against the background of the much- discussed flattening and delaying of the curve of Covid-19, the curve of our final year was doomed to interruption. The Prime Minister, in slowing down the progress of the virus, drew our school year to an early close. However, for the sake of vulnerable people and our loved ones, I do not think there are many among us who disagreed with the closure of our schools. We in the Upper Sixth now find ourselves facing a final year devoid not only of exams but also of farewells. To call it an anti-climax would be an understatement. Writing this whilst isolating at home, I reflect that what I miss the most is simply the company of my friends, and, more broadly, the people I would, in the normal course of things, be seeing every day during my last year at Dulwich. At least we are looking forward to being able to attend some sort of prom or ‘final day’ next year. It’s just a shame that it won’t be in July 2020.

Discovering that you won’t be sitting your GCSEs takes a little getting used to, says Chris Paton (Year 11)

I t is Monday 23 March 2020, but this is a Monday like no other, marking the beginning of the first week in which schools have closed. The streets are almost deserted, devoid of those bustling uniformed groups of schoolkids racing off to get to school before the first bell. So, I ask myself, how long will this last? When will I see my friends again? And, most importantly, is that English essay still due in today? Surely this is a time for celebration, though. After all, I am about to embark on possibly the longest ‘holiday’ that I’ll ever get. Finally, I can binge-watch all eight seasons of Game of Thrones without a single overdue assignment to stop me. And yet there’s one glaring problem that means I can’t seem to relax. As my towering pile of vomit-inducingly colourful flashcards and countless empty coffee cups will tell you, I’m a GCSE student. Or rather, I was until today. As the news rolls in that summer exams for both GCSE and A-level students are cancelled, I find myself wondering what comes next. Within a week, most of my burning questions have been answered, but I can’t help but feel lost, discarded, forgotten, as if a whole chapter of my life has abruptly drawn to a close. Despite all the uncertainty surrounding the futures of Year 11 and 13 students at the moment, one thing that is certain is the complete lack of closure. A key motivation to get GCSEs

over with was the promise of all the partying afterwards. Regardless of how well or how badly you do in the exams, all students can celebrate that they are out of the way; for many, this means rushing off to the Reading Festival or trashing their parents’ house in a once-in-a-lifetime ‘please mum, I’ll only be 16 once’ celebration. But I can assure you that no houses will be trashed, and no festivals attended this year. As Jedidiah Befekadu, one of my peers, says, he is ‘quite upset by the fact that the last two years of [his] education, all that hard work, has led to nothing’. And although we have been assured that we will be given the qualifications we’ve worked for, there’s still a lingering sense that something is not right. However, our situation pales in comparison with the plight of many others who are struggling with the devastating, even life-threatening, consequences of this global pandemic. And whilst we might not know what the future holds for any of us, at least we know that the teachers in charge of determining our grades can assess us more accurately than a two-hour- long exam paper can. Moreover, according to those who are more optimistic, maybe this will spell a change in the way that all future exams take place so that the whole performance of the student is taken into account rather than just their final exams. For now, there is no way of knowing what may happen. Looking on the bright side, though, at least I can look forward to being in the history textbooks 100 years from now.

OUR MINDS WERE ALSO STARTING TO TURN TOWARDS THE VARIOUS TRADITIONS AWAITING US: PRIZE GIVING, FINAL ASSEMBLIES, FAREWELLS AND PROMS

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