Standardised exams: A disservice to young pupils

Childhood is not supposed to be a time for stress and anxiety. But one thing is increasingly making it so for young school children worldwide: exams.Writing in HuffPost, parenting author Sarah Ockwell-Smith details how her 10-year-old son turned from a kid who was hungry to learn about everything in and out of school – baking brownies, riding bikes, philosophy – last year, to one who would today describe his day at school with just one word – “stressful”.“No enthusiasm, no hunger for learning, no regaling me with tales of the kings and queens and emperors of times past. No talk of different countries, religious festivals or the latest animals he had studied. My baby boy’s world is now full of stress,” wrote the co-founder of the GentleParenting.“My boy who spoke of nature, wizards, Pugs and cartoon characters now tells me “my life sucks”. Once when we were driving past his school he said ‘There it is, the place that makes my life hell’,” she continued.