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After a year of navigating an altered educational landscape, teachers and parents are recognising what’s really important, says NICK GALLOP
If the last year has taught us anything, it’s that life’s certainties are, well, not quite so certain. The previously permanent features of our personal and professional lives, most often taken for granted as steadfastly enduring as family heirlooms, have disappeared.
The same is true of the educational ‘furniture’ in the lives of young people too. Those familiar, eternal rites of passage: starting and finishing school; the tribulations of exams; sporting competitions, school plays and musical concerts; trips, expeditions and travel have all but vanished. In their place, young people are required to draw upon previously untapped mental reserves, firstly to make sense of the bizarre circumstances that they faced, and secondly to conjure new pathways, new purposes and new goals.
Of all the havoc wrought by the virus, the educational lives of young people have been particularly badly hit. Most specifically, the spectacular failure of the nation’s globally-revered, gold-standard assessment model, twice in two
years. It has reminded us that the faith we place in exam qualifications is shaky at best, measuring only a tiny fraction of the true worth of young people. We’ve all long understood that the system comes close to accurately reflecting the skills, characteristics and qualities of young people, yet we’ve all been complicit in preserving it.
So after a year of closures and lockdowns, what do we know? We know that the real-world skills we draw upon every day to navigate the personal and professional challenges we face were built and developed in a whole range of different contexts, only some of which were classrooms. We also know that in forgoing so many relationships and experiences over the last year, we’ve been forced to reassess their relative significance in our lives.
Put together, the importance of school life for young people is a far cry from the transactional, certification experience that it might previously have been imagined. Instead, school life is integral and irreplaceable in developing the cultural and social identities of young people. If we’ve learned anything by their closure, it’s that the importance of the opportunities provided by schools outside of the classroom – for growth, development, personal enrichment and advancement – are profoundly missed and of the most significance.
It wasn’t long ago that independent schools were all but lampooned for their unfashionably quaint, borderline subversive, emphasis upon cocurricular activities, while local authorities up and down the land set about disposing of the facilities and the staff that sustained provision within the maintained sector. It’s a source of national shame that it has taken a health crisis to reveal this.
Of course, sporting engagement is not about physical fitness as an end in itself, but about self-confidence, trust in others, teamwork; about behaving responsibly, succeeding and about bouncing back from defeat and disappointment. Vital, critical life skills – none of which are
measured or valued in examination halls. The recent loss of live music in our schools and wider society, has revealed the role that it plays in creating and sustaining our communities, further underpinning the wealth of evidence attesting to the developmental impact that musical engagement and proficiency has in other academic subjects too. Of course, the same is true of the performing arts, outdoor pursuits, and outreach activities, with conclusions that are apparent.
A one-size-fits-all examination system is never, ever going to be a true measure of the value of young people. Instead, if the health crisis has revealed anything, it’s the transformative value and importance of an immersion in all that schools offer – in sporting, musical, outdoor and cultural endeavours and in enriching pursuits – to develop a balanced portfolio of skills, qualities and characteristics that will last a lifetime.
Nick Gallop is Headmaster of Stamford School, Lincolnshire
Expanding horizons
If, like many prospective medical students, you’d like to combine the best course with exceptional travel experiences, the American University of Antigua College of Medicine (AUA) may be right for you
Despite the supply of doctors increasing, shortages remain. The average doctor-to-patient ratio in the UK hovers at around 2.8 doctors per 1,000 patients in comparison to Austria’s five, while oil-rich states exceed 7.7 per 1,000 patients.
Although the growing global demand for medical study and practise and UK medical school places rise annually, capping and uncertainty over final grades makes studying abroad an increasingly appealing option.
Top international medical schools have seen a rise in enquiries, as students are exploring options further afield without compromising the quality of study. The American University of Antigua (AUA), a division of Manipal Education & Medical Group, is one such medical college offering a quality academic experience with global clinical exposure.
The question most frequently received from international medical students who are midway through a degree is if they can transfer to AUA, as they didn’t realise that either the clinical rotation wasn’t in an English-speaking hospital, or that the lectures weren’t delivered by someone fluent in English?
Unfortunately, transfers from universities where curriculums are not recognised by our awarding body isn’t possible.
AUA’s ethos has always been to offer all highly motivated individuals the opportunity to study medicine with the global and UK clinical rotations. AUA boasts over 3000+ graduates in 15 years (practice in US, UK, Canada and India).
While education across the pond is different to the UK, it’s the outcomes that matter, and more than 91 per cent of AUA students secure residency in the US – career destinations include the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Yale New Haven Hospital, and more.
While fees and quality of teaching vary worldwide, caution must be exercised when choosing an international medical institution.
AUA medical students will enjoy a backdrop of 365 beaches in Antigua
When choosing an international medical school or college, you should ask:
1. Who is the curriculum recognised and accredited by? (eg GMC) 2. Where will this medical qualification allow me to practise? 3. What pastoral care is available? 4. What is the demographic makeup of your students and staff? 5. Do the staff speak fluent English?
AUA offers:
• A GMC-recognised curriculum • Multiple entry points across a 4.5-to-6.5-year programme • A diverse learning environment bringing together 21 different nationalities • No entry examinations • State-of-the-art laboratories and library • A transfer to the Warwick Medical School • A 96% first-time US MLE exams pass rate • Global clinical rotations available in four countries – Canada, the US, India and UK • A backdrop of 365 beaches and Sir Viv
Richards as AUA’s Ambassador!
Combining exceptional study opportunities, travel and endless sporting activities in a diverse, exciting environment, what more could a student ask for? AUA offers generous contributory scholarships and affiliated schools are guaranteed interviews. To stay in touch with all local AUA Events register your interest.
