A-levels need 'more hard work now'

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A similar number believe that news coverage of their results will be critical, regardless of how well they perform.

And more than half said they "despair" at negative comments about their school achievements, the survey, commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors (CIEA) found.

CIEA chief executive David Wright said the results were "thought provoking".

He said: "It is - to say the least - thought provoking and of some concern that the majority of young people might despair at the constant negative reporting of their school achievements, whilst working harder, when they are only doing what we ask of them through the educational challenges that we set."

And he added that history had shown that school performance is not necessarily the best indicator of future success.

"Churchill was a poor performer at school," Dr Wright said.

"Einstein struggled with his school diploma, and Charlotte Bronte's school report in 1825 said that 'she knew nothing about grammar' and wrote 'indifferently'. So what's new?"

There has never been a "golden age" of examinations, Dr Wright said. He said a report of the old O-levels in 1958 had commented that the standard of English was "no worse" that in previous years, but still "very unsatisfactory".

And even Shakespeare spelt his name in three different ways in one document and his texts were littered with spelling mistakes, Dr Wright added.