Sheffield teenager stays strong in face of adversity in effort to secure place at Oxford University

A strong-willed Sheffield teenager is determined to overcome yet another obstacle in her school life in the hopes of securing a place at Oxford University.
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Elizabeth Bateman, 18, from Stannington, should have been sitting her final A-Level exams this month and celebrating the last few days at Sixth Form with her friends.

Instead, with schools closed and exams cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, she has been left to complete the curriculum at home and is concerned about what the future may hold.

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Elizabeth Bateman, 18, is hoping to secure a place at Oxford UniversityElizabeth Bateman, 18, is hoping to secure a place at Oxford University
Elizabeth Bateman, 18, is hoping to secure a place at Oxford University
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It is not the first time, however, that the Bradfield School pupil has had to face adversity in terms of her education but she is taking it all in her stride.

Her father Mark, 50, said: “I’m very proud of her determination, she’s trying to excel in an environment where everything’s not working as well as it should be, and partly working against her.

“I just feel so sorry for her, as a parent, that she’s got this extra anxiety and uncertainty. If you sit an exam, it might not go well or it might go better than you expected but at least if you’ve given it your best shot.

“She’s not going to have that knowledge or feeling that she’s earnt her grades. As with most schoolchildren, Bradfield announced one afternoon it would be shutting down, so they didn’t have any closure of their school life.”

18-year-old Elizabeth taught her self the remainder of the A-Level curriculum at home and is now revising chemistry while in lockdown18-year-old Elizabeth taught her self the remainder of the A-Level curriculum at home and is now revising chemistry while in lockdown
18-year-old Elizabeth taught her self the remainder of the A-Level curriculum at home and is now revising chemistry while in lockdown
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Elizabeth was part of the first cohort to receive numerical GCSE grades following reforms in the grading system in 2017 which were brought in alongside a new curriculum in England.

Despite this, she excelled and gained 11 grade 9s – equivalent to an A* in the old grading system – alongside around only 300 of her peers nationally.

After securing her GCSE grades she joined Bradfield Sixth Form, but just weeks later the school suddenly announced it would be closing its Post-16 provision which resulted in redundancies and the mass departure of many A-Level teaching staff.

The teenager says she had around six different chemistry teachers over the course of her A-Levels for various reasons.

Elizabeth was studying at Bradfield School Sixth Form in the final year before its closureElizabeth was studying at Bradfield School Sixth Form in the final year before its closure
Elizabeth was studying at Bradfield School Sixth Form in the final year before its closure
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“It gave us a greater sense of independence having to teach ourselves things and learn on our own,” Elizabeth said. “But, at the same time, it gave added pressure because when you’re switching between teachers they don’t know how much you’ve learnt, they might teach it in a different way and you don’t have that sense of continuity.

“During the coronavirus, we knew schools would close at some point but we weren’t expecting exams to be cancelled so there were about three days at school where we were rushing around like headless chickens trying to finish the course, trying to get resources so we could finish studying at home.

“When the announcement came that exams weren’t happening we were just in shock, there’s no sense of actually being able to earn the grades that we were going to get at the end of it.

“You’ve put two years of blood, sweat and tears into it and actually at the end of it, what was it all for?”

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She is still predicted top grades but, for the time being, her results are now largely out of her hands.

The government sector Ofqual has said students will receive a grade based on their teacher’s assessment of their work from the classroom, mock exams and extracurricular work, and can expect to receive their final grades in August.

Elizabeth is now hoping she has done enough to secure a place at Oxford University to study chemistry but is saddened she has missed out on certain aspects of her school life.

She added: “After exams, there’s always the euphoria and the plans you make with your friends and celebrations that you have. Me and my friends were supposed to be going to Spain to celebrate results day, but obviously we won’t be going abroad – I won’t be able to see them at this rate.

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“It’s a school tradition that on the last day before you leave you always dress up in different costumes, take pictures and sign each other's shirts. It’s all a nice rounding off of your time at school but we didn’t get that.”

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