January 2024

42
Wanstead Village Directory
A TESTING YEAR?
As we venture into 2024, we must remember to limit the pressure
we put on the youth in our community, says Wanstead resident and
A level student Zadie Larsson
As an A level student, it becomes
hard not to associate this New
Year with impending exams and
uncertainty over my next steps. Whether
you are choosing to go to university, an
apprenticeship or straight into the field
of work, the prospects of moving on from
school into the adult world can be scary.
There is also the added pressure of being
sure of what career you want to pursue. Many
young people have an immense feeling of
uncertainty over choosing their prospective
career options. It is important to normalise the
feelings of uncertainty that many youths feel.
For a lot of us, 2024 marks the most important
exam year yet, the impending dread of
A levels looms, and instead of being excited
for the New Year, young students in the
community can feel extremely anxious. I invite
the adults reading this to limit that pressure
as much as possible and to feel compassion
towards your children, grandchildren or
friends. Anxiety can show itself in a myriad of
ways, the NHS saying that signs of anxiety can
be seen in ‘irritable’ behaviour, demonstrating
how easy it is to confuse ‘acting out’ with
genuine worry. Children who find schoolwork
a struggle, or those with special educational
needs or mental health difficulties, may be
more likely to experience academic anxiety.
However, so can high achievers, particularly
children who are overly perfectionist or whose
parents have very high ambitions for them.
No one is exempt from these feelings; there
is such a broad spectrum of what anxiety can
look like for each individual person. For a lot of
people, exams add to – or actually cause – the
anxiety that a lot of students feel. Academic
anxiety is likely to increase as children get
older, although primary school teachers have
reported anxiety in their pupils too. It can be
argued whether such young children need
this academic pressure put on them. However,
the only thing we can control is the way in
which we help our children and young adults
through these difficult times.
In this New Year, I urge you and your families
to pay attention to the small signs that you
may miss in your children and to understand
that 2024 might not hold the same excitement
for everyone.
To the youth of our community, this year
might seem scary and full of change, but
with change comes excitement! If we try to
have the most positive mindset we can and
flip the negatives into positives, then this
year won’t seem so daunting. If we start to
mentally prepare ourselves now, then one
big change can be broken down into small,
manageable ones, ultimately resulting in an
easier transition into adulthood.
Wishing everyone the most fabulous New
Year! If you feel scared or nervous about
exams, don’t worry. We are all in this together.
For information and support on the issues
covered, visit wnstd.com/youngminds
To advertise, call 020 8819 6645 or visit wnstd.com