Pupils who should be getting ready for GCSE and A-level exams are applying for ‘gig economy’ jobs in supermarkets because they think school is over
- GCSEs and A-Levels have been cancelled this year due to coronavirus
- But there are fears pupils will stop learning and be ill-prepared for education
- Many are working despite laws about the hours they can undertake during term
Teenagers who would have otherwise been studying for their exams are now applying for jobs in the gig economy because they think school is over.
All GSCEs and A-Levels have been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and students are being awarded their predicted grades instead.
There are concerns that these pupils will now stop all their academic work, leaving them ill-prepared for the next stages of their education.
Teenagers who would have otherwise been studying for their exams are now applying for jobs in the gig economy
Martyn Oliver, chief executive of the Outwood Grange Academies Trust which runs 32 schools in England, said that pupils are no longer continuing their academic work, as reported in The Telegraph.
He told Schools Week: ‘As far as they’re concerned, they’ve passed.
‘Some of them are even trying to get into the gig economy, get work in supermarkets. We don’t want them doing that.
‘We understand the pressure on them, but unless anyone defines it differently, they haven’t left school and should still be engaged with education.’
The exams watchdog Ofqual said that schools should not ask pupils to do any new work to base their predicted exam grade on.
They decided it was only fair for previous tests and assignments to be taken into consideration when teachers submit the predicted grades to the exam boards.
Rob Campbell of the National Association of Headteachers has urged British teenagers to become fruit pickers
According to employment law, children aged 15 and 16 can only work 12 hours per week during term time, and 35 hours during the school holidays.
There are no restrictions on 17 and 18-year-olds.
Rob Campbell of the National Association of Headteachers said it was not a bad thing for teenagers to get jobs during this testing time.
He said: ‘I can understand the argument that they are still in education and they should do some preparatory work for university or the sixth form.
‘But we are in a different world, we have to mobilise the resources we have for the good of the nation.’
Mr Campbell also encouraged young people to apply to become fruit pickers.
But one sixth former from Exeter decided to go above and beyond to help during this pandemic.
Madeleine Crow, whose A-Levels were cancelled, is working on the hospital front line to help with patients.
She was due to begin working as a healthcare assistant later this year but said it was a ‘no-brainer’ to start now.
She told the BBC: ‘It’s scary for everyone. If this how I can help, I am happy and proud to.’