That time when, the exams that have been looming for the best part of the past three years, are literally just around the corner…….this is the first cohort of students since the start of the Pandemic to actually sit exams under exam conditions with no recourse to predicted or mock grades.

Tomorrow DD has her Spanish speaking exam followed by DS1 exhibiting his German speaking skills on Friday.

It feels like a language gauntlet has been laid and from here on out, it’s a countdown to the real deal of GCSE exams.

The build up. The pressure. The school’s desire to produce excellent results for its next marketing campaign. It has been relentless. And the kids are starting to ‘feel’ it.

To this day I still have nightmares about exams taken decades ago. In my terrorised sleep I panic at the unlikely and impossible thought of not having done any revision. Tossing and turning, I wrestle with what that all could mean before forcing myself to wake up and face the reality of it just being a non reality.

But I have age and experience on my side. My 16 year olds don’t.

DD and DS1 have been diligent in prepping and revising.

‘It will be fine’ feels like a weak platitude.

The mountain they see is but a hill. But, for now, they will need to bulldoze through that mountain to reach the new chapter on their golden bright horizon.