The Science Is Clear: Kids Need Struggle to Grow
For years we have assumed that adolescence ends when pupils leave school; once students turn 18 and leave for university, the ‘adult brain’ is ready for whatever life throws at it. But recent research, including the Cambridge study reported in Nature and by the BBC this week, paints a very different picture. In contrast, our brains, continue to develop well into our late twenties and early thirties and the transition into fully mature ‘adult mode’ does not typically happen until around age 32.
This matters for education. It means that schools are not simply preparing children for GCSEs or A-Levels, instead we are preparing emerging adults whose brains are still wiring themselves for judgement, resilience and independence. And if we want them to arrive at university capable of coping - academically, socially and emotionally - then our duty goes beyond protecting them. We must teach them to withstand challenge, not avoid it.
In the past, I have used the analogy of a greenhouse to describe this to parents, seedlings need warmth, care and attention, but very quickly they need to be moved outside to strengthen their stems and ensure they can cope in the world around them. Children generally benefit from an appropriate combination of support and challenge, which fosters their development into competent and capable adults.
The developing brain needs challenge, not cocooning
The research identifies five broad phases of brain development, with the second, spanning roughly ages 9 to 32, involving some of the most significant rewiring. This period shapes the networks that underpin planning, impulse control, emotional regulation and decision-making. In essence, the brain is building the kit it will rely on for life.
Alongside this, long-established neuroscience shows that the prefrontal cortex, responsible for reasoning and self-control, continues maturing throughout the late teens and twenties. This means that the very capacities young people need to thrive at university, that of independence, discipline, resilience, are still under construction when they leave school.
This should change how we think about our role as educators. If we remove every obstacle, smooth every difficulty, and wrap children in well-meaning bubble wrap, we risk sending them into adulthood without the cognitive and emotional robustness they need. They may achieve high grades, but struggle when faced with academic pressure, social complexity, or the inevitable setbacks that come with living away from home.
Learning to cope is part of learning to grow
The answer is not to become harsher or more demanding. It is to create structured, age-appropriate challenge that helps young people develop the inner tools that neuroscience tells us are still forming.
That means:
- Encouraging pupils to sit with difficulty rather than immediately stepping in to rescue them
- Teaching them how to manage workload, plan ahead and deal with disappointment
- Normalising failure as part of progress rather than something to be feared or avoided
- Allowing them to take responsibility for their learning, their friendships and their conduct while offering guidance rather than control
These small struggles, repeated over time, build grit. They strengthen the neural networks that help pupils regulate emotion, recover from setbacks and persist when things feel tough. In short, they make them less likely to crumble when they step into the world beyond school.
A school’s responsibility is to prepare adults, not producing results
Parents naturally want to protect their children from sadness, difficulty and stress. Schools feel this too. But the research reminds us that genuine pastoral care sometimes means letting children wrestle with challenge in a safe environment, rather than sweeping it away.
At Radnor House, our responsibility is not only to help pupils succeed academically, but to help them develop the essential human capacities that will carry them through their twenties and beyond. Confidence. Discipline. Perspective. The ability to stay upright when life wobbles.
As the science shows, the brain takes its time. Adolescence is not a brief chapter, it is a long developmental arc. Our collective job is to ensure that when pupils eventually step into adulthood, they do so with the strength, independence and inner resilience their future demands.
