May 1987. The music charts were filled with songs by Madonna, The Smiths, Depeche Mode and U2; temperatures reached a high of 24 degrees, according to the records (although much of the month was duller and cooler than this – sounds familiar?); the World Snooker Championships were on TV and won by Steve Davis, the fashion world was dominated by ripped jeans and leather jackets . . . and I was doing my O-levels. (Note to anyone younger than me: O-levels were the forerunner to GCSEs).

My focus that May was on learning quotes from Jane Eyre, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and from a selection of John Betjeman’s poems, making sure I was aware of all the key elements of the Arab-Israeli conflict, committing French and German irregular verbs to memory, finishing off a computer programme I had written in Basic and being sure that I had learned the quadratic formula by heart.

I remember vividly being acutely aware that this was an inescapable moment which could shape my future and which demanded my attention, while feeling the fierce desire to get out and see the world.

Although my calendar indicated that it was just a matter of weeks before the promise of "freedom" the time ahead to the end of the exam period seemed to stretch a long time into the future.

Our last day in school before exams had been excitedly anticipated . . . and then came and went in a flash. I recall a final assembly and some wise words from the head and shirts being signed as we wished each other well and moved into the next stage of our lives.

As a teacher, I have seen pretty much the same process take place for the past 24 years. While each generation has their particular memories, the rite of passage which is leaving school is something with which all of us are familiar.

What my 16-year-old self didn’t appreciate is that the last week before O-levels / GCSE exams can be as emotional and momentous for teachers as for pupils: we also feel nervous for our students, privileged to have watched them grow over the years, excited that they have successfully reached the end of an important stage of their lives and sad that those days will very soon be become part of the past.

As my French teacher, Ms Bull (the first ‘Ms’ I ever met) said ‘Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose’.

I do hope those students about to take their GCSEs enjoy their final weeks in school and I wish them all the best of luck for the examinations to come.