There have been some quite cruel and cynical remarks on here in the last couple of days and lack of empathy for those youngsters having their exams cancelled. The following may help you to see how devastating it can be in their lives and remind you of how it was to be an 18 year old:-
My grandson and his parents live in a poorer area of South Essex. He passed his eleven plus but no posh grammar school in this area. So after finishing at the comprehensive he is doing his A'levels in Southend which involves a journey by train and a thirty minute walk, an hour in all. He was a couple of marks short in his S levels to get the predictive grades he wanted. Since then he has secured a conditional offer from Bristol University and has been working his balls off to get the grades. Tonight his world has been torn from beneath his feet. He doesn't know if and when he can take the exams, if and when he will get to Uni. He has had to cancel his big 18th birthday party in May (you only get one of those in a lifetime), cancelled his driving test and he had his first ever holiday with his mates booked for Spain which has gone. He will possibly miss saying goodbye to his school friends or at least doesn't know how that will work. He won't be able to work at the part time job he does in his holidays and weekends because it is in a play centre. He won't get to have his first (official) pint with his friends in the pub or take his grandad to the pub and buy him a pint for the first time.
Yes, I know, nobody died. But at that age it's harder to see that it will get better. Do you remember how you felt the time your first truelove chucked you? These kids are doing this for the benefit of the vulnerable and 70 year olds alike me, they will be largely unaffected, so please have some sympathy for them.
Originally Posted by: fairweather