Does teen love dampen exam success?
Do teen love affairs lead to poorer exam results at 16 and 18? I’m only asking because of what I’ve noticed from the results that have just come out and from my own dismal exam showing at the age of 16. Have the kids with boyfriends and girlfriends done worse?
And do we need some government-backed research into this? It’s really a numbers game. If you spend all your spare time slapping your tongue around someone else’s mouth, you’re not revising. If you’re thinking constantly of someone else’s bra clasp or the shape of their knees, you’re not going to be gripped by Keynes theory of economy or the structure of DNA. Who would be when presented with the 15 year old paperboy or girl from across the road, with the square chin and the best wheelie skills in the street?
So if you have a kid who’s stoking a full relationship at 14 or 15 or 16 is there anything you, or an aunt, uncle, godparent or friend can say or do? Do you sit in your teen’s bedroom tapping text books and screaming “No snogging goes on in this house until six hours of revision have been completed”? Do you tie them to a chair and hide their mobile in your pant drawer, refusing all contact with the acned person of their desires?
What’s to be done about young love and education? Has anyone else noticed that studying and love are mutually opposed, the orange juice and milk of society – fine separately, but best not consumed together?
