‘The impact of the past year on young people has been profound’

I never sat my GCSEs, and so, as you can imagine, my generation’s introduction to A-Levels has been somewhat difficult. The discomfiting situation in which young people are currently trapped has been perpetuated by a serious lack of competence from government, in regard to our education and wider futures.

Despite this, fortune is on my side under these pandemic-induced restrictions: independent study has always been a strong point for me, alongside a somewhat ambivalent regard to socialising – fitting for the likes of remote-learning and lockdowns. But nevertheless, I’ve always felt an additional pressure to get involved with something other than my own work.

On joining Redcliffe Sixth Form Centre, a student-led journalism society offered an opportunity for that kind of involvement, particularly as it was morphing into a functioning publication when I joined in September. Its aim was to provide a free, accessible site for students, and to produce fresh and engaging content on a termly basis.

They needed a co-editor, and the role was offered to me. It was a small baptism of fire, as I knew nothing of how to go about editing, but it seemed like an excellent chance, so I agreed – and helped launch what would later be named The Redcliffe Report.

With everyone wanting to say something, mashed together with imminent deadlines and the risk of offending someone, maintaining the quota of “fresh and engaging” was, at first, difficult.

However, it is crucial, more so now than ever, that young people have a voice.

The pandemic has suspended, and even cancelled, many opportunities enabling young self-expression, which is why the ones remaining need to be used. The Redcliffe Report provides one such environment; it’s a platform for the opinions of students to be disseminated freely and expressively. For me, the Report is one of the better outcomes of this crisis.

The logo of the Redcliffe Report, designed by Year 13 student Olivia Piggot

The impact of the past year on young people has been profound. The number of people in my age group that claimed unemployment-related benefits increased by a staggering 120% between January 2020 and January 2021. The government is supposedly putting us first in its Kickstart employment scheme; and yet, with potential ‘no jab no job’ policies on the horizon for businesses and organisations, young people – the ones last to get the jab – therefore may not be employed again any time soon. It’s a worrying prospect for the futures of many.

I think that I speak for the majority of young people in saying that it feels unutterably futile to be forward-thinking at the moment. It’s hard enough just getting through another day of home-learning (my Sixth Form has not yet returned), let alone researching universities, looking for a job, or even just thinking about tomorrow’s workload. Harsh inequities are being exposed here – I’m one of the luckier ones.

The first day of the new term in January, when students were sent to school, needlessly harrying teachers and students alike, lasted for just that long – a day – before England was plunged into lockdown again.

The new categories identifying ‘vulnerable’ children now include those without laptops or internet access. And, while this is absolutely reasonable, some schools saw nearly complete classes because of it: not ideal for a lockdown. My mother, as a teacher in a comprehensive school, saw firsthand the gaps in learning between these students, and the subsequent gaps in achieving their potential.

But even then, not all is lost. Far from it, in fact. Young people today are among the most resilient generations on earth, and our capability surfaces again and again in times of crisis.

And we’re getting heard, too. After Gavin Williamson’s disastrous attempt to gauge the academic environment for last year’s exams, it was young people that took to the streets in protest. Regrettably, the situation today could still be called problematic. While schools and colleges are returning, as long the Education Secretary remains ignorant to the struggles of growing up, young people will continue to be negatively impacted. His refusal to resign sets a poor example, hankering after a position for which his qualifications appear missing.

Call it childish if you will, but it’s not fair.

Isaac Lomax is an editor of The Redcliffe Report, a student-led newspaper for Redcliffe Sixth Form Centre.

Main photo by Jess Connett

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