Students around Huntingdonshire are reacting to the news that they will not be sitting their GCSE and A-Level exams, after some schools in the district closed today (Thursday).
The news comes after the Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last night (Wednesday) that all schools in the UK would close on Friday.
He also said that this academic year’s exams will not go ahead in England and Wales.
Schools will be open for those looking after the children of keyworkers and vulnerable children.
Two A-Level students from Hinchingbrooke School have spoken to The Hunts Post about the news.
Today, they were told that they were no longer expected to come in, and that all lessons were cancelled.
Tallulah Lord, 17, from Grafham said: “It is a bit of a shame because we have been at the same school for a very long time and we have just been dropped, there hasn’t been a goodbye, it has hit everyone that is our school experience gone in a split second. Obviously now we have no leavers assembly, summer ball and your last school experience has been ruined, I understand that there’s bigger things, but school has been a lot of my life, so to have it taken away from us.
“My life is now on hold, because we don’t know what is going to happen with university, student finance. It just means that my plan for my life has just been thrown down the drain, and understandably peoples work is very important, and you find jobs but I don’t even have any qualifications at the moment to be able to do so, I really don’t know what I am going to do.”
Students around the country have been left in limbo about exams, with a lot of them not knowing what is going to happen.
Daniel Ridley, from Offord D’Arcy said: “We are all in the same boat and I think there is a lot more people at risk, so much has happened there isn’t much the government can do, and there are worse people out there. I have zero idea whether to keep revising or I focus on my future career and what I do after, and even if I do focus on that I don’t know whether it will start. I am wanting to do an apprenticeship and now that is all on hold.”
Mark Patterson, Principal said: “At Hinchingbrooke School we understand the Government’s decision to shut schools, but we are also desperately sorry that we cannot continue to teach our students, particularly those students who would have been preparing for summer examinations in normal times. This is a global crisis and in times of crisis, we all need to pull together and support each other.
“We intend to stay in very regular contact with Hinchingbrooke School families, and this includes setting work for our students to do from home. We are currently waiting for more information from the Government about how we may be asked to support certain categories of young people, such as those who are vulnerable, those who have Education, Health and Care Plans and those who are the children of ‘key workers’.
“We very much look forward to the time when we can bring our community back together and get back to the business of teaching and learning.”
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