Theater of the absurdTeenager passes grueling "getting on bus" test
A 15-year old Briton was surprised to be awarded “Using Public Transport (Unit 1)” certificate; it turned out he had successfully met the challenge by catching a bus while on a summer outdoor activities scheme at the city of Bury
This is the information age, so the quality of education youngsters receive during their formative years is important. It is good to see that in the United Kingdom they take this issue seriously. In evidence: A Bury teen waiting for his GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) results was surprised to learn he had passed exam board AQA’s stringent “Using Public Transport (Unit 1)” test, which honors those able to “walk to the local bus stop, stand or sit at a bus stop, wait for the arrival of a public bus and sit on the bus and observe through the windows.”
Bobby McHale, 15, was unaware he had even sat the test until he received a certificate through the mail. He said: “At first I thought I’d got some sort of GCSE early. When I read out the details to the family we all fell about laughing.”
The Telegraph reports that it turned out he had successfully completed the challenge by catching a bus while on a Bury and Rochdale Activity Generation outdoor activities scheme, run by Bury Youth Services. According to the Telegraph, around 300 of his fellow 11 to 15-year-old participants, including some of his mates, were similarly honored.
Dad Andy, 44, said: “To be honest we are all a little bemused. The Bury Youth Scheme is excellent and I can only suppose this comes from some box they have to tick in order to get funding. As part of it Bobby certainly traveled by bus. Maybe it’s boosted his confidence because he was nominated as head boy. We think he may go far… so long as he gets the 135!”
Bury’s Youth Support Services Manager, Barbara Lewis, defended: “This certificate isn’t just about getting on the bus, it’s about time management, working out bus routes and for some people, traveling alone for the first time. We encourage people to make their own way to the range of activities on offer and work with parents by asking them not to drop them off in the car.”
Sadly, Bobby’s younger brother Joe, 13, failed Using Public Transport (Unit 1). Bobby concluded: “Maybe he wasn’t up to it.”
