1st Class Honours in Shelf Stacking.

There have been many articles published since A level results day that I can sympathise with. Yes, students do spend hour after hour learning about good exam technique. No, they do not require full knowledge of a subject to pass an exam on it. Is that the fault of the lecturers whose targets require them to tirelessly improve their exam results? Is it the fault of students who have a huge desire to learn, but an even bigger desire to go to University? I don't think so.

If you want Students to receive a cathartic experience of Education, where they become knowledgeable, confident and successful, maybe some of the values we hold about education need to be brought up to date. Not all students have a knack for exams. Fact. Coaching students in exam technique in order to increase their chances of success doesn't make them knowledgeable. Fact. Vocational courses and apprenticeships allow students who don't have excellent exam technique to have value placed on their knowledge of a subject. Fact. If more students were encouraged to take a vocational route to qualification, students who do achieve well in exams will be able to learn, understand and flourish.

It wasn’t until I had completed my A levels (with little to show for them) that I discovered the true amount of quality vocational education available to students; that a vocational course CAN get you in to University, as well as giving you the tools to walk straight into a workplace; that A levels aren’t the only option.

Maybe it’s time our entire country stopped denigrating the value of vocational qualifications and worshipping A levels as the benchmark for success. Now graduates are working for minimum wage throughout the country, I want to laugh in the face of the lecturer that told me “If you do a vocational course now, you’ll still be stacking shelves in Tesco when you’re 30”.

How proud are you feeling?

Even with the huge successes we've seen in our national A level results this year, this week is quite simply going to be one of the most dismal many of our students will ever see. Not only will they have to contend with the media continuously devaluing their hard work to achieve A and B grades by accusing exam boards of "dumbing down", many students will have put all that hard work in only to find there are no places left for them at University. Tens of thousands of students who are more than capable of becoming graduates are being turned away by Universities thanks to the gaping hole left in Higher Education funding last year.

As the global economy continues to push young people out of employment, 5 out of 6 students who enter the clearing process this year will not find a place in Higher Education. And where are they supposed to go from there? I don't have an answer to that question; and it seems, neither do the government.

To top it all off, these students aren't even afforded the luxury of enjoying their success at A level. I know what it's like not to get the results you were hoping for in that little brown envelope, but I've also experienced achieving As at A level. And I can't say that it is much easier. In fact it may even be worse to be constantly told that the only possible explanation for your success is the low quality of the exams you are taking. How would these people prefer to measure the success of the UK's education system? Through my failure?

After the fantastic A level results that this country keeps coming out with, you'd think that we'd be world renowned for the quality of our Further Education. However, the majority of national media simply regurgitate the same predictable rubbish every year. Well I take pride in those students who have achieved the results they worked for over the past two years. I am proud to say that I come from a college with a 98% A level pass rate. I am proud of the lecturers who have supported me and my fellow students over what is possibly the toughest two years of our lives. I am proud to be a part of a college that celebrates success, not just because it makes them look good. But because they care.

And to all those people who aren't feeling very proud;

At the athletic championships last week we saw a man run the 100m faster than it had ever been run before. That doesn't mean they shortened the track.

Welcome to CCSU

So, this is my first blog as Cornwall College Student Union President. I've only been in the job four days but I've got some great ideas already.

I want to spend my year in office motivating Cornwall College Students to get involved in the Student Movement. It might sound boring, but your Student Union has an influence on real political decisions that have an effect on your day to day lives. Thanks to my involvement with the National Union of Students over the past two years, I've been asked by Shane Chowen (Vice President for Further Education) to take a place on the National Executive Council as FE Zone Committee Rep. This puts me in the middle of the strategic decision making of the NUS.

The NUS has a massive impact on both the media and government of the country, it is their job to work to Defend, Extend and Promote the rights of Students throughout the country. They lobby the government to make a difference for you; campaigning about increasing HE fees, course cuts in FE and lowering the voting age to 16.

The Students on the NEC have a real opportunity to make a difference, and through Cornwall College Student Union.. So will you.

Toni Pearce
Cornwall College Student Union President