22nd August 2022

It was A-level results day last Thursday. All across the country young people (and their parents and teachers!) were either bursting with excitement as the students achieved what they needed to progress to the next stage, or dealing with the disappointment and anxiety caused by missing out on their predicted grades. It’s always a nerve-racking time for all concerned, but it has been made worse this year by the fact that these young people were sitting their first ever public exams owing to the disruption caused by the pandemic. And as a result, there was also an anxiety-inducing media frenzy about how they would do, and what their chances of getting into their first-choice university were.

This generation of students has been particularly hard hit by Covid-19, and many will be feeling anxious and vulnerable, even if they got the grades and the university place they wanted. Their education has been badly disrupted, and they’re unsure how they will cope with the next phase, whatever that may be. So today, please spare a thought and a prayer for all these young people and for those who are supporting them: their parents and guardians, their families and friends, their teachers, and the universities and colleges preparing to receive them as they embark on the next stage. And above all, may those young people know that they are loved for who they are and not what they have achieved; may they each know that they have a unique contribution to make to the world, and that they are precious, not just to their families, but in the eyes of their Father God.

Debbie Pinfold