Why investing in your child's education is one of the most important things you can do. Part 2

Part 2 - My A levels.

So my primary school experience was mediocre at best. My secondary school experience was exactly how I spoke about in in Part 1. The main point I’m trying to get across here is this…

I hear parents telling me this one sentence all the time… “She just loves her school Maria!”

The problem is that children have nothing to compare it to. Also children are children. And especially our younger children - they just don’t have the capacity yet to articulate truly what they think about their school experience.

As a young girl, I totally pretended that everything was ‘fine’ but it really wasn’t. And ultimately, I had no other options. My school was where I would stay until the age of 18 whether I liked it or not. Because I was just too young to make other choices for myself.

When I got to sixth form, I chose to do the ‘easiest’ A levels because after years of being told that I wasn’t ‘good enough’, I actually believed it.

I was a very talented dancer and I wanted to go to University to study dance. I was simply told ‘No.’ I ‘had to go and get a proper degree!’. I ‘had to do something academic.’

Door slammed.

I continued to pursue my love for dance continuing with my flamenco dancing on the side up until I was 22. I was a very talented ballet dancer but I stopped after passing my Grade 8 RAD exam.

My A levels were in Italian, Spanish, English Literature and French.

Languages were my strength. I have always spoken 5 languages (English, Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese).

I struggled with all of my A levels. I struggled with my GCSE’s too but I did exceptionally well considering the poor education I received (11 A levels grades A*-B). But I worked so hard to achieve those grades!

The reason I say that I struggled with my A levels was because there wasn’t the support in place that was needed. Italian was just natural to me and I didn’t need much help at all. I adored English Literature but the teaching was so, so bad (The English teacher actually ended up being suspended half way through the year for being intimate with one of my classmates). French and Spanish I adored too (still do!).

When it came to choosing Universities, we had one meeting each (about 10 minutes!) to discuss our ‘goals and aspirations’.

I had no clue what I wanted to do or what I wanted to be.

No one had ever bothered to ask me.

So what did I do? I chose the ‘easiest’ subject for me! I chose to study Italian literature and Spanish at University and somehow managed to work extremely hard to get into UCL.

Was this the degree I would choose again if I could go back in time? Absolutely not.

Did I enjoy this degree and was it worth all of the debt I went into to achieve it? I will discuss this in part 3.

Choosing the best secondary school or however you choose to educate your child is so important. Don’t just choose the school ‘down the road’ because it is convenient to you. Please, go and see as many schools as you can and decide as a family. Don’t rule out Grammar Schools because so and so down the road said that your child will ‘never ever get in.’ Don’t rule out private schools either - with so many bursaries around now, you can get a proportion or even all fees covered if your child is academically strong enough. Your child’s secondary school education is so important. Whatever path you choose - private school, grammar school, state school, home school or online school. Take it seriously and make sure that you invest in the best education for your child. I’m not just talking money here by the way.

Take the time, effort and energy to choose the best educational path for your child.