My son is 17. He was in the guinea pig group for the new GCSEs two years ago. Nearing but not at the end of his A levels, college closed as a result of CV19. It was announced there would be no exams and he then ceased to be anyone’s priority 1/.

His future is now dependent upon an algorithm to ensure an exam system remains consistent over time, with no consideration of how these young people have to all intents and purposes been abandoned at the start of their adult lives 2./

The absolutely nonsense about kids being allowed to “resit” exams in autumn, without finishing the course before college finished and with no support from teachers in refreshing knowledge and revision make this sticking plaster a joke. 3./

This year has been extraordinary, and to build an exam award system that pretends that isn’t the case is both naive and heartless. I know I have skin in the game on this, but why can’t these kids be given a break. 4./

Why can’t we have a system that recognises the long term impact of being 15 or 17 in 2020? We know that unemployment will increase and squeeze these young people out of the labour market for the next few years. 5./

Why can’t we take this opportunity to wrap our arms around these young people and really invest in them - giving them the knowledge and skills to get the UK out of this? We could start by giving them some certainty about their future. 6./

We should expect Government, colleges, universities and employers to #bekind to these kids - give them a break instead of focussing on a process that pretends 2020 hasn’t turned everything on its head. Rant over ....