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The endless pressure of exams is like an endurance test, measuring how pupils withstand constant stress

The pressure of exams is a constant for Greek pupils and their families, from the first grades of primary school till the end of their school life. If the Pedagogical Institute proposed abolishing exams, there would be many adults and children who would heave great sighs of relief. In England that dream of parents and pupils may come true. Recently the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) recommended the abolition of all national exams for children up to the age of 16. The QCA argued that constant exams – each pupil has sat 70 by the time they reach the age of 16 – not only fail to raise the level of studies but also subject pupils to stress from the first years at school and discourage them from the educational process. Constant anxiety In the past school year, Maria did more than 30 tests, apart from the final exams and tests in English and French. «I knew that things would get harder in senior high school [she has just finished the first year], but the truth is that if you want to do well, you can’t lift your head up from your books,» she told Kathimerini. Now Maria is enjoying her summer vacation, which she felt the need for more than ever this year. It seemed as if the school year would never finish. «I was in a constant state of anxiety; there was always something to think about,» she said. «It was the same for my classmates. One girl fainted while we were doing a math test. We all knew she was under a lot of pressure from her parents. For some children, the difference between a grade of 19 and one of 20 is huge. Luckily my parents aren’t like that. That doesn’t mean I don’t get upset when I don’t do well. I wake up with butterflies in my stomach when I have tests and exams,» said Maria. That’s what senior high school is like, some say. «Do you suppose they put less pressure on children in primary school?» Fotini Sideri, mother of 10-year-old Dimitris, asked Kathimerini. Dimitris does well at school, goes to tuition college for English and music school for piano lessons. «The music school holds exams at the end of the year. Although he’s good at the piano he can’t read music. For a whole week before the exams he cried non-stop. He was in a state of panic. ‘Mom, I don’t want to make a mistake in front of everyone,’ he said. On the one hand I felt like telling him it didn’t matter if he made a mistake and on the other I thought that that wouldn’t help him deal with what he would have to face later. I’m going to come up against that dilemma for many more years to come,» she says. Elissavet, mother of Irini, 18, who is waiting anxiously for the results for the university entrance exams, is well aware of what a crucial role parents play. «Everything is up to the family,» she told Kathimerini. «The school has lost its role; 99 percent of the teachers are not interested. The children struggle alone.» Irini always studied, her mother explained. «Life for a child who wants to do well is very tough – school, tuition college, study, continually, for years. The stress builds up and at some point it erupts. My daughter showed the first signs of it in the final year of senior high. It manifested itself as insomnia. Irini lay awake all night, and so did I. And what was it all for? A piece of paper.» Chasing grades Arguments are frequent in Sofia Triantafyllou’s house. Not because of bad grades, but because of good ones. «I keep scolding my daughter – who will go into the final year of junior high – because she chases good grades. She’s anxious about what grade she’ll get. But if she starts living like that now, what’s going to happen when things really get tough?» she commented to Kathimerini. «I don’t mind if you fail, I tell her, it doesn’t matter. She won’t listen. Do you know how many parents get hysterical about grades? How many put pressure on their kids to get top grades even in primary school? Don’t they know that it will destroy them?» A little while ago, Angela, 17, left school. And she is really happy about it. «The education system in Greece is inhuman,» she said, her voice rising. «Not only does it not help you develop learning skills, but it puts you into a competitive system that doesn’t lead anywhere. Especially in senior high school, children can’t think; they can’t feel. School deactivates, kills the most individual characteristics.» Now a new phase in her life is beginning. Now a college student, Angela is keen to show what makes her different, what was locked away inside her for so many years, what a grade for an exam cannot reflect.

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