The thing isā¦ if we deep dive about Izzy..
(1) when still in school, the Inghams told us themselves she was doing one less GCSE in order to receive academic support instead. Those sessions are for kids who find the academic demands of the GCSEs quite tricky and need some extra support. No biggie, academics are not for everyone.
(2) they remove her from school and the academic support of people who do that, all day, every day (yes, yes, in the matrix) and left her to learn on her own with support from an uneducated parent whilst the other parent claims a-levels in STEM subjects but doesnāt lower himself to such acts as āparentingā or āvaguely giving a tit about his kidsā
(3) this magically results in her getting a NINE in English. The highest grade you can get. Sadly, we donāt know which English gcse this is in because the Inghams donāt seem very clear on there being two of them. We donāt see Izzy reading any set texts for English Lit but then likewise, we do hear her have the vocabulary of a nine year old so English language seems unlikely too. Thereās a thought maybe she got a 4 and a 5 in both making a 9 altogether (maybe the top G himself with his STEM brain worked that one out)
(4) we are not privy to any of her other results. Another of Goveās inventions is the āebaccā - a sort of notion that every kid should pass a gcse in English, maths, a science and a language. No ideas if this happens for Izzy or not. No subject other than english is ever mentioned.
(5) she takes a year out despite that not being a thing at 16. Youāre supposed to be in education or employment
(6) sheās taking 3 a-levels. One, in psychology. Sheās not in school so this doesnāt really apply but overwhelmingly schools want you to have at least a 7 in a subject to do it at a-level as the leap to a-level from gcse is so much greater. They may let you in with a 6. Psychology is a science so again, a school, would want those good grades to be in science and maths.
(7) my son is in Year 12, like Izzy (tho a year younger). Heās just had a first set of exams for the teachers to give predicted grades. He did get a 9 in his GCSE English lit and an 8 in language. He would be the first to say that the demands of these exams far outweigh any gcse. And they only cover half the course so far. And heās in school with experts supporting him.
(8) my son wants good grades as he has top unis in his sights. Isabelle doesnāt need university because she already has many thriving businesses. But also sheās definitely doing a-levels and is very smart. But also schooling is a joke and you donāt need it to be a G. But also sheās definitely doing them so stop asking what sheās doing. But also Esme doesnāt need gcses, stop asking.
All as clear as mud.