04/09/2026
Some notes/advice for going back to school - from a kid who hated school and now speaks to lots of young people about how much they don’t like school.
Whether it’s in friendships, relationships, in lessons, at clubs. You can say no. I remember once I was forced to do choir - I hated it and they used to make us miss every single lunch time to practice but I was absolutely terrified to say no. Do you know how many schools have toilet policies now? Almost all of them are telling young people when to use the toilet. If you want to throw the book of Children’s Rights at them then I fully support it.
Thankfully, my parents were incredibly supportive but I felt pressure from elsewhere to do more traditional subjects when it came to options, GCSEs, A-Levels and a degree. A friend’s parent once said I was doing a joke course. My advice is always to go with what you enjoy because learning can be mega fun when you’re inspired to do it. Find and double down on what you enjoy.
“Your GCSEs are the most important exams you’ll ever do in your life…” is the most messed up exam board propaganda. Work hard, try your best but guess what? You can retake well into your adult years. We paralyse young people into the fear of failing and it ruins self-esteem and confidence. So I’m here telling you there’s always a plan B, C, D etc, failing is part of life and adults do it all the time.
The rules are weird. They’ll change without notice. They’ll never really have a purpose to them. I spent a massive portion of my life in education and now I have such a hard time with them so start young because lots of them are meant to be broken, questioned and challenged.
Education settings are made to feel like the world exists in a bubble but it’s a big wide world of opportunity to explore.
