So this evening Martha had her interview for 6th form college. It was Truro today
and we will go to Penwith in 2 weeks time.
Both colleges are big and white and shiny and my youngest child is far too young to go to either. I saw a couple of lecturers and they looked like they weren't long out of school themselves.
That is the old in me coming out............
When I finished my O levels in 1984 I decided to also do A levels but I was 'lucky' enough to go to a school that had a 6th form centre attached to it. I was also lucky in that it was in the same street as I lived in so I could literally roll out of bed at 8.30, back comb my hair a bit and stroll along to the lessons that I was taking through choice and not because I had to.
And oh how different it was back then. I bloody despised that 2 years of my life.
I studied - English, History and Religious Studies. In those days you only did three subjects.
English - my teachers were Mr Whelan ( Ronnie ) and Mr Todd our flamboyant headmaster
zzzzzzzzzzzzz
History - my teachers were Mr Rockliffe ( english 17th and 18th century ) and Mr Kelly ( european 17th and 18th century). It was a complete and utter load of baltics. I wanted to die of boredom. I couldn't have cared less who Gustavus Aldolphus was or that some czar put a tax on wigs.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Religious Studies - my teacher was Mr Sanderson, aka Sharkey on account of his long pointy face. I liked Sharkey , he was lovely and as we only studied the bible the lesson wasn't too confusing.
zzzzzzzzzzzz
But on the whole, I wasn't happy. We may have been nearly adults, I was an adult when I left but having to wear a school uniform until you were 18 and a half was not good.
Luckily we did have a bit of freedom where we could descend into town during our free periods and we would go to a local cafe called High Society where we would share a coke and a scone ( rhyming with gone not stone ) and basically smoke fags and compare lovebites.
It all seems a bit more enjoyable now for kids leaving school. The college prospectuses are full of photographs of teenagers chatting and laughing on the way to their next lecture. They can call staff by their first names, they can hang out, they can wear their own clothes and they can hopefully have a pleasant 2 years.
Do I wish I was 16 again?
No way!
At our school there was only about 10 subjects to choose from whereas now there are hundreds. There are A Levels, there are diplomas, there are half courses, there are full courses, there are vocational courses. There is choice.
Martha applied for 6 which after a half hour interview has whittled down to 4. I am aware that this may change within the next couple of weeks. She liked Truro but will still go to her interview at Penwith.
Two of the sunjects she has opted for are two that I also did - can anyone guess which two?
And I hope with all my heart that she enjoys it more ( she will ) and gets better results than I did - this will not be too difficult................
Keep away from the scones Martha! That and 10 Bensons and idle chit chat was my downfall!
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