During the six years of elementary school, none of Jon's teachers ever asked him about his studies. The only thing the teachers cared about was, "Are you happy in school?"
Basically all the students grew up in this "happy" atmosphere.
There are only a few exceptions.
For example, there was a girl named Susan in the same grade, whose father was a very wealthy banker in Southampton. Every afternoon after school at 3 o'clock, when other students were happily carrying out extracurricular activities, Susan would be reluctant to leave and be picked up by her father's Rolls-Royce.
In Susan's words, every day she had to learn piano and dance under the coercion of her father; her father also hired three tutors, forced her to study a lot of subjects and assigned her endless homework.
The classmates all sympathized with Susan's experience...
A week ago, the news came that 11-year-old Susan scored above 95 points on every SATs paper and was immediately admitted to St. Paul's Girls' School in London.
Those classmates who sympathized with Susan had to go to the local public middle school in Southampton to continue enjoying their "happy education".
Elementary Education emphasizes "happy education" in teaching, but is ruthless when it comes to elimination.
The SATs (National Primary School Completion Examination) is given to 11-year-old primary school graduates, and the pass rate in general years is only 30%-50%. The results of this exam and the recommendation letter determine what level of middle school the 11-year-old primary school graduates will attend, and even determine their future fate.
For middle schools, there is a huge gap between famous schools and ordinary schools...
Well-known universities like Cambridge and Oxford will not recognize transcripts from ordinary public schools, let alone letters of recommendation from the principals of ordinary public schools. No matter how good your grades are, it is difficult to get their approval. For famous schools like Eton College and St. Paul's College, as long as the A-Level exam scores are not too bad, basically half of the graduates can easily enter Cambridge and Oxford, and the rest go abroad to study...
Seeing his parents celebrating ecstatically, Jon couldn't help but smile.
The initial goal of the planned route has been achieved. Now I have basically stepped into Cambridge and Oxford...
In his mind, he even began to imagine himself celebrating the success of an experiment in the laboratory, publishing a paper in a core journal, and even standing on the Nobel Prize podium...
The only regret is probably that Eton College is a boys' school; in the next seven years, it will be difficult for me to meet girls of the same age.
While thinking about it, Jon glanced at the last letter.
'Mr. Jon Hart,
Walking in the yard,
86 Eastleigh Road,
Southampton, Hampshire.'
The envelope was made of heavy parchment, and the address was written in emerald green ink. There was no stamp.
Jon turned the envelope over with shaking hands. On it was a wax seal, a spear, and a capital H surrounded by a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake.
"Fuckkkkkkk!" Jon couldn't help but curse out loud in German.
At this moment, it was as if a thousand needles were piercing through his heart.