Member stories

Riley found the pandemic lonely and isolating, worsening their already struggling mental health. Often feeling fearful about what was happening in the world and what this meant for them, Riley found that whilst the pandemic brought people together to support each other in some respects, they felt a lack of support from their school in dealing with the situation.

This was compounded by their experience of learning from home, saying that for them “remote learning didn’t really exist”. They were sent work but there was no online teaching or support during the first lockdown which Riley found intense and lonely, with no one to help, saying that they “struggled with my mental health before the pandemic but with the added stress on top it became a lot to handle”.

When it came to the third lockdown, they did then have access to online lessons, but found that this also wasn’t ideal due to issues with technology rarely working. They felt they were constantly falling behind. It was clear that this situation was draining for both the pupils and staff at their school saying, “our teachers were deflated and so were we”.

Therefore, it is clear a range of catch-up was needed to get these students, including Riley, back on track. However, this was not the case.

I feel like we never really got to catch up. During Year 11, we had the standard revision sessions before and after school but that was all. Some of us were supposed to get extra help with tutors but that never actually happened.

Riley argues that those from low-income backgrounds who have been affected most should get more support around catching up prior to their exams after their heightened experiences of COVID-19.

Emma describes her experience during the pandemic as one of “uncertainty, chaos and confusion”. Her mother sadly lost her job, and while she was on furlough for a few months, this did not continue and led to concerns for her family. This compounded with the rising costs we are now seeing has meant that they have had to cut back on a lot of things, meaning Emma continues to miss out on experiences even as restrictions have eased.

Speaking about her mental health during the pandemic, Emma said: “It felt like I was missing out on the teenage experience. A part of growing up is about creating certain experiences with friends, and instead I now associate that with isolation and restrictions”.

Emma felt privileged that she had good Wi-Fi and access to a device to work on when learning remotely, however, given her parents educational background, she felt she struggled to go to them for help with schoolwork in a way that some of her peers with more educated parents could. She did have some online provision provided by her school, however, the range of abilities in the class and disruption by other pupils meant that she felt she wasn’t learning through these sessions and was missing out on key higher-level content.

On top of this, Emma says she did not receive any catch-up support, with students expected to fill any gaps independently before being tested on them. Because of this, Emma decided not to pursue A-level Mathematics, as she felt so far behind and did not want to start a new course with the gaps in her knowledge of the GCSE content, illustrating the impact that remote learning and a lack of catch-up support can have on students’ future plans.

Isadora struggled during the pandemic, with the closure of her school and move to remote learning affecting her mental health and wellbeing. Being isolated from friends and family was something she really struggled with and the change to her education left her feeling unsupported and lonely.

Fortunately, Isadora had access to a device and a quiet space to work from, as well as a good internet connection. However, she found the level and amount of independent learning challenging, especially not being able to separate her work from her rest time as all of it was done from home.

I found it impossible to complete all the work within the designated one hour and would often work for longer than necessary.

The lack of any structured lessons throughout the first lockdown and reduced contact with teachers meant that Isadora felt like she was struggling a lot more than her friends at other schools.

Isadora admits that she did not catch up with the work that she missed over lockdown, finding this to be her downfall during internally set GCSE exams, as there were topics that she had never studied that came up on the papers. She was offered some catch-up sessions but did not find these particularly useful as they had to cover many months of work in a very short amount of time, and these were often in very big groups where you could not get individual support from the teacher running the session.

This meant that Isadora did not want to pursue the subjects that she felt she missed out on the most at A-level, shaping her subject choices and as a result, her options for the future as well.

Hemlata’s experience of growing up during the Covid-19 pandemic, going into lockdown at just age 15, has had a significant effect on her life and development. She said “life has never really been the same since”. She is also conscious of how much Covid has had an impact on how those younger than her have developed and how their relationships have changed.

It was not only personal relationships that were affected by the pandemic but also her experience of school and learning.

I feel lucky that I had the resources to take part most of the time, but I feel like school was way too harsh on students in this time”

She found that long school days spent on screens learning remotely affected her wellbeing, saying more encouragement to go outside, exercise and take care of themselves was needed.

Hemlata was also disappointed at the lack of enrichment opportunities she had as a result of the pandemic, missing out on school trips and other activities to supplement the overall academic experience that she and her peers were used to.

After spending more time at home studying during the pandemic, Daniel discovered his passion for economics, which he plans to go on to study next year. But the cost-of-living crisis has shaped his future plans in a different way. Daniel would now like to study a degree apprenticeship as during his gap year the cost of everything has risen considerably.

I haven’t had the luxury of always being able to ask my parents for money, so experiencing the cost-of-living crisis has pushed me to get a job and be able to afford the things that I want.

Combined with the effects of social isolation during the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis has also impacted Daniel’s mental wellbeing. He has felt pressure to get a job and has started to fear all of his savings may run out, leaving Daniel unable to do things he enjoys. Although he wasn’t initially planning to take a gap year, Daniel is using this time to enjoy his hobbies, relax and reflect on what he wants to do with his future.

Daniel previously wanted to work in finance as he thought this would set him up well financially for the future. This is important to Daniel as he has grown up in a low-income household. But now he has his eyes set on the tech sector.

Seeing how technology has become integrated into our lives due to the pandemic has made me want to work within this sector as I admire the flexibility, which would allow me to have a healthier work-life balance.

Richa says her experience of the COVID-19 pandemic was full of ups and downs. Whilst she enjoyed spending more time with her family, Richa felt confused and overwhelmed when schools were closed. She found the constant changing of the lockdown rules particularly difficult – Richa says “I tried to stay organised as much as possible but it was difficult, as everyday there would be new announcements about how we were going to do our exams, and changes to learning. It was really easy to lose motivation.”

Richa’s parents are front-line workers, who were also caring for an elderly relative who was unwell during the pandemic. Her relative was at home rather than in hospital due to a lack of bed space and risk of contracting COVID-19. This meant Richa’s family were constantly busy and were often talking about how to cope financially. Richa herself was sometimes looking after her relative, even while learning at home during lockdowns; this was a constant worry. Looking back, Richa has realised this was a highly stressful and overwhelming time.

Richa believes she hasn’t ever fully caught up with the learning she lost during the pandemic. Lessons for A Levels were still disrupted when classmates and teachers were ill, and content was rushed with little time to go back to topics she’d struggled with. Richa relied on her organisational skills to keep her going, a skill she hopes will prove useful in the future.

The pandemic brought a mixture of emotions for Serana. Whilst she grew closer to her family during lockdowns, she noticed she was becoming more anxious in social situations when life returned to normal. Excitingly, Serana gained a new brother during the first lockdown, but she has noticed he struggles in crowds and has some attachment issues after spending a lot of time at home in his early years. 

When thinking about how the pandemic impacted her education, Serana said “the effects linger as I lack the confidence needed for exams, having missed foundational learning.” She said a lack of catch-up sessions made her lose confidence in subjects like Maths and missing out on sitting her GCSEs meant she has had little time to learn effective revision techniques. She believes the pandemic’s disruption still casts a shadow on her academic journey even now.

Serana is now at university and feels lucky her family have supported her with her decisions on her future. She was considering studying abroad for a year, but since the cost-of-living crisis, she has decided to focus on entering the workforce as soon as she can to contribute financially for her family. 

The cost-of-living crisis is a big concern for Alexander at the moment. He is in a family of 8 and there are many bills to pay, so it often feels like his family are just about managing, as they have no savings for luxuries. He feels pressure to become financially independent as his parents have a large family to support. These worries were also present during the pandemic, when his mum was made redundant from a previous role.

Before the pandemic, going to school wasn’t easy for Alexander, so learning at home suited him well. When returning to the classroom, he had the support of his school and teachers to learn in smaller settings so he could continue to feel comfortable whilst learning.

Alexander initially started studying at St Andrews last year, but has since decided to take a gap year to work as well as some volunteering. He is working at a nursery and will be getting a Level 3 Childcare qualification at the end of the year.

Living costs and the distance from home were some of the reasons Alexander decided to leave university.

Money was a massive worry for me whilst at St Andrews, so I am saving money for uni next year. I would hate for money to limit my ability to take advantage of the full university experience.

He has now found a course for next year that is closer to home, but found this difficult as he lives in a rural, isolated area. Like others on the COSMO Youth Panel, Alexander struggled being away from friends during lockdowns. Anxiety surrounding the pandemic continued long after lockdown for Alexander.

I struggled with anxiety, friendships and socialisation for some time after, and even wore a facemask for a long time, because I was self-conscious and worried.

During the pandemic, Shemaiah felt lucky that her school had advised her to drop a GCSE subject to allow for more revision time and an extra English or Maths lesson instead each week after lockdown. She said “I found this really helpful because I made a lot of revision material during the free periods and could revise with my peers to consolidate knowledge or find any gaps.”

But when it came to A levels, Shemaiah felt it was difficult to juggle 4 subjects, her hobbies and part-time work. Working has always been important to Shemaiah as her mum is a single parent and she couldn’t rely on her mum to support her financially. To make it easier, she decided to drop Chemistry, however this then meant she could no longer pursue a career as a Pharmacist. She did get lower A Level grades than she expected, but she is now happily studying French and History.

Shemaiah is keen to go into teaching, but now wonders whether it will be rewarding. She thought teachers had a lot of extra responsibilities put on them during the pandemic, from making resources to supporting with student wellbeing: “Teaching wouldn’t be a good career path right now and I could do another job in a different field for more benefits.” Seeing teachers strike over the past year for better pay and conditions has also led to her becoming concerned that the profession may no longer be appealing.

Whilst Zeeshan disliked the lack of social contact during COVID lockdowns, he now feels closer to his friends and he can speak more comfortably with them about each other’s mental wellbeing. His social battery took a while to recharge ready for socialising again, but now Zeeshan feels he is more confident in putting himself into new social situations compared to pre-pandemic.

He is currently studying Politics at university. Although learning at home during lockdowns was frustrating, with online lessons not suiting him and feeling constantly behind, time outside of the classroom allowed him to focus more on subjects that he was really passionate about, like politics. Zeeshan understood more about how important decisions are made and by whom during the pandemic, and he felt he wanted to be a part of it.

Zeeshan and his family have had to follow stricter budgets since the cost-of-living crisis started, in order to afford essentials which have become more expensive. Cost considerations have also affected his plans for the future, as he has changed his mind about taking a gap year before heading to university: “Travelling would not have been financially suitable anymore as the costs of flights have increased.”

The negative social impacts of the pandemic were really tough for Muhammad. He felt completely cut off from life outside of his home. He said he “craved human contact outside of [his] immediate family.” However, spending a lot of time with his parents and sister brought him closer to his family. Since the pandemic, Muhammad’s family have been better paid and he has noticed little impact of the cost-of-living crisis on his family compared to others in his community.

Muhammad now studies history and politics at university, and was able to take part it some virtual law internships before his studies. Learning at home during lockdowns helped him learn at his own pace, and his GCSE grades were higher than expected. He didn’t think higher education would be for him, but during the pandemic his interest in history grew and he reassessed what he wanted in life.