BTEC International

Known as sets in the UK, and streaming in the US, the practice of separating children and young adults into different groups based on ability or previous exam performance during their education is common. This is often called ability grouping, but, following the lead of EFF, we will use the term attainment grouping instead. It’s a more accurate description, as sets are usually based on students’ academic performance, which is easier to assess than their innate ability.

Anxiety rates among children and teenagers have reached record levels across the world. Last year, a metastudy analysed data from over 80,000 children and teenagers across North America, Europe and Asia. It found that rates of anxiety and depression had almost doubled in the last couple of years, with a prevalence of 23.8% and 19% respectively.