French news channel France 2 recently spoke with Researching Reform about how a growing emphasis on exams has been affecting children in the UK.

The programme looks at how children around the world are coping with different types of testing and the frequency with which they are tested, as well as an in depth look at state schools versus private schools. The UK portion of the programme investigates our own two-tier system, which effectively still stigmatises state school graduates – most of the ‘top jobs’ in the country still go to those who have been privately educated.

During our segment we talk about the added pressure children now face to perform, the negative effects of unhealthy levels of competition, which include mental health difficulties like depression and anxiety disorders and the terrible catch 22 parents now face when trying to get their children into good schools in their area, who feel they need to push their children harder than ever to secure places in these schools.

We would like to thank Nic Boothby, and the amazing team at France 2 for interviewing us.

[This programme is in French].