Episode #7
“The Exam System Is Failing Our Children” — Hannah Gee & The Fight for Fair Exams
What happens when a child fails the same exam again… and again… and again? Hannah Gee knows exactly what that looks like. After watching her son struggle through repeated GCSE Maths and English exams, Hannah recorded an emotional video from her car that resonated with thousands of parents. But she didn’t stop at sharing her frustration. She decided to fight for change. Hannah is the founder of the Fair Exams Campaign , and in this episode of Thick No More , we ask whether our current examination system is really measuring intelligence and ability or simply measuring which young people are best able to succeed within that system. Hannah shares the reality of watching her son’s confidence disappear, the experience of having to persuade him to attend yet another exam, and why she believes repeatedly putting young people through the same system and expecting a different outcome has to stop. We also discuss: Why Hannah believes exams need to become fairer, not easier Functional Skills and why Hannah believes they could offer a genuine alternative for some young people Fair Exams’ calculation that around £338 million is spent each year on GCSE resits Why Hannah says the average GCSE resit pass rate over the last five years has been around 21% The huge disparity Hannah highlights between SEND and non-SEND young people achieving English and Maths GCSEs ❤️ The impact repeated failure can have on confidence, self-esteem and a young person’s relationship with education Hannah and her son’s appearance on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour ️ What Hannah wants politicians and the Department for Education to do differently ✊ And, most importantly, what we can all do to support Fair Exams This isn't about lowering standards. It's about giving young people a fair opportunity to demonstrate what they actually know. As Hannah says in our conversation: “We’re trying to make them fairer, not easier.” SIGN THE PETITION: Create an applied pathway within GCSE English and Maths, like Functional Skills - Petitions FAIR EXAMS WEBSITE: Fairer exams. Fairer futures. — Fairer Exams FOLLOW FAIR EXAMS ON INSTAGRAM: Please don't just listen. Sign the petition. Share it with your school WhatsApp groups. Send it to another parent. Talk about it. The more people who get behind this campaign, the harder this conversation becomes to ignore. If this episode resonates with you, please follow Thick No More on Spotify and share this episode with one person who needs to hear it . Instagram: Every follow, share and listen helps us take these conversations further. Because a grade on a piece of paper should never determine a young person's belief in their own intelligence. You were never thick. You deserved to be understood. ️ Thick No More with Jay Giddens ✍️ SUPPORT THE FAIR EXAMS CAMPAIGN️ FOLLOW THICK NO MORE
