Of ‘A’ levels, I have none. I do have eight ‘O’ levels and a 2:1 Honours Degree in English Literature, but there’s always been that ‘A’ level shaped ‘hole’ ‘twixt the two which, over the years, I’ve thought about filling just because I do like things to be neat and tidy. And I am addicted to life-long learning so embarking on a ‘A’ level here and there would have been fun especially as the choice has broadened through the years.
I did start 6th form and ‘A’ levels, my choices being English Literature, Biology and French. Well, I say ‘my choices’ but there was a bit of railroading on the part of my grammar school in that they wanted me to do either Arts OR Sciences and not a mix of the two. What they REALLY wanted was for me to do Science - Biology, Physics and Geography but despite doing well at Physics, I didn’t enjoy it and don’t even get me started on Geography. Besides, English was and always has been my passion, and I wasn’t going to give it up without a fight. After some minor wrangling it was agreed I would do French - again because I was good at it - and I would be allowed to take Biology, which I actually enjoyed. I would have enjoyed doing Psychology but it wasn’t available in my day.
It soon became clear, however, that 6th form wasn’t for me. Not only was my ‘A’ level timetable a pain (because of the whole Arts/Science mix) I also got myself in a stew about what clothes to wear now that we were free from the constraint of uniform and could wear what we liked. The trouble was, I came from a family where clothes were usually second-hand, and few and far between. And there was I in a girls’ school with a bunch of fashion-conscious contemporaries who eyed each other every day to see what everyone was wearing and had they worn it before? My clothes were limited and unfashionable. I was working a part-time job at the weekends and could buy some clothes but not to the extent that I could keep up with the other girls and their ‘different outfit every day’ ethos. Besides, I would rather spend my part-time wages on books and records, and putting some in a savings account ready for when I passed my driving test and entered the joy of car ownership.
Therefore, I left school and got a full-time job. Sans ‘A’ levels but feeling I was actually moving on with life in a a more productive direction. Education should be about studying what you love and enjoy, what will be useful to YOU. Shouldn’t it? Or is that a realisation that has come with age, and reflection on all the hours I wasted trying to remember the German variables of the word ‘the’, the complete periodic table, and wondering why Miss Smith was more interested in telling us about adventures with her boyfriend rather than ox-bow lakes and Amazon forest tree canopies, which would have been infinitely more useful in my Geography exams.
I’ve been on tenterhooks this week. Previously, I had applied to do a Level 3 Diploma and my application was ‘going through a process’ in order to make sure I was a suitable candidate for acceptance. Level 3 diplomas are equivalent to three ‘A’ levels, which is a happy gap-filling coincidence, albeit it forty years down the educational line.
And yesterday…(drum roll…) I received confirmation that my application has been successful! In September, then, I embark on a Diploma in Spiritual Coaching and Caregiving. It’s a very happy mix of Arts and Science and I feel, after nearly two years of feeling useless, pointless and probably a bit depressed, that I am taking a first step onto a very exciting and very right new life pathway.
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KJ