'It's not fair' - what it's like to be labelled as 'the lost generation'

  • Watch Claire Manning's report


For students sitting their GCSEs and A-levels, the past year in school has been like no other - but they have been left frustrated at being labelled the "lost generation".

Home schooling, earlier exams and a change to curricula has led to a year of uncertainty for A-level and GCSE students.

Now schools are back open but students will not sit traditional exams and will instead be marked by their teachers.

This has led to people saying some subjects are easier than before - something students vehemently disagreed with when they spoke to ITV West Country.

GCSE student at Coombe Dean School in Plymouth Tia Carmichael said she is angry and frustrated.

She said: "We are the lost generation, we have been labelled that which is such an awful label to have.

"We've now been almost punished by being labelled as a group of young people who basically got their grades handed to them - when we didn't."

Head of Science Rob McDermott

Head of Science Rob McDermott said: "I think the label is really unfortunate, the idea of the lost generation.

"They will have accessed a full A-level course and will have been assessed rigorously and the grades they get will be well earned and so I hope those labels will be rapidly forgotten."

The school's head of maths, Beth Duffield, told ITV News West Country that teachers have stringent marking criteria that they must follow to ensure grades are fair.

She added: "We are blind-marking so I don't know which student's paper I am marking in front of me so it takes out all the personal sort of challenge."

Not knowing if exams would be cancelled and a lack of revision time has created additional pressures for students.

GCSE student Esme believes it is "unfair" to be labelled as "the lost generation".

She said: "Our exams have been way earlier than they would have been, so with that missed learning time, plus having a shorter deadline for our exams, I think it is ridiculous we are being called the 'easy' year," she said.

Hannah Brady, who is in Year 13, added: "I think because we had our exams cancelled, exams are back on and then they are cancelled again it was so difficult to know when to start revising."


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