Most sixteen-year-olds in the UK have one thing on their minds as April moves into May. GCSEs, Nationals and other high-stakes exams loom large. However, at least one 2026 GCSE candidate could be forgiven for thinking he has more important things on his mind.
Max Dowman has established himself as a vital part of Arsenal FC’s first eleven as it bids to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004 and the club’s first ever Champions League. Breaking several records along the way, he is the Premier League’s youngest-ever goal scorer. Aged 16, he will shortly sit his GCSEs. As a high-stakes exam candidate, how can you handle the rest of your life already being high-stakes?
The world of the elite athlete is highly regimented. Training sessions, competitive fixtures and the necessary recovery periods all follow an immovable schedule. Travel (Dowman made his record-breaking Champions League debut in a match in Prague when he was still fifteen), media attention and sponsor commitments all impinge on the time available for revision, coursework deadlines, and the mental load of exam preparation.
The exam system is designed for a relatively uniform candidate. However, for all kinds of reasons candidates often do not fit into neat boxes. Do existing arrangements adequately accommodate candidate’s specific circumstances?
Current assessment systems for high-stakes academic qualifications adapt for a variety of unusual circumstances. For example, the UK’s Joint Council for Qualifications allows candidates to apply for special consideration if they are due to participate in an international sporting event at the time of assessment.
However, mitigations such as remote invigilation or routes for those not enrolled at a regular school or college are not always well-signposted or easy to navigate. For example, while understandable, the requirements for remote invigilation include technology obligations that can make benefiting from them impractical. The expectation is still that the vast majority of candidates sit the exam in the same type of environment, at the same time, submitting their answers on sheets of paper.
However, could a genuinely candidate-centred experience offer more to the candidates who would benefit, whether elite athletes, those with caring responsibilities or with other specific needs? Awarding bodies would no doubt explain that they can only provide support to those who need it when they are aware of the candidate's circumstances.
Timely advance communication from schools and awarding bodies that give time to prepare evidence and make arrangements is crucial. Staff in schools and other exam centres would probably appreciate clearer guidance on flexibility provisions and sympathetic scheduling where possible. Candidates could benefit from well-structured mental health and wellbeing support that acknowledges competing pressures. All these provisions are dependent on there being sufficient resources available to implement them.
Here the elite athlete, young footballers in particular, is often at an advantage. Dowman attends a well-regarded independent school close to his home. As such, he is following Arsenal’s established preference for young players to remain at their regular school until the end of year 11. However, in common with other Premier League clubs, Arsenal increasingly uses selected independent schools for the education of its academy players. In some cases, it pays the full fees as an incentive for young players to join.
It’s a far cry from the experience of the player who still holds the all-time record for the youngest player to score in England’s top division of professional football. Jason Dozzell scored on his debut for Ipswich Town in February 1984 at the age of 16 years and 57 days. According to his autobiography, the club took him out of school shortly afterwards and dropped him straight into the sink or swim world of competitive men’s football.
But what about those not able to draw on the help of a well-resourced independent school or top-level football club? As digital and adaptive assessment become more common, provisions for candidates that face other high stakes demands on their time and mental capacity will become easier to implement.
Young elite athletes might be outliers, but they shed light on something that is lived experience for many candidates. For them, the experience of taking important exams is shaped by many other factors besides preparations made in the lead-up to and what happens in the exam room. At a crucial point in their lives, many will be better able to display the full extent of their talents when assessment bodies and providers design and implement systems that meet their needs.
Photo by Nelson Ndongala on Unsplash
