Christopher Lowe, Head of Secondary at The British International School Abu Dhabi, on the challenges of the pandemic and practical advice on exam preparation for secondary school student.
Students at The British International School Abu Dhabi are quite used to sitting exams. The lower year groups sit end of year exams as well as exams in January each year. Therefore, exams are very much part of our school, although this is slightly different to what Year 11 and 13 experience.
Like all schools across the capital and elsewhere, the initial wave of the pandemic affected students at The British International School Abu Dhabi, who were unable to attend school in-person between March and December in 2020.
However, we were able to assess students through mock exams, question and answer sessions that teachers conducted, and coursework, which allowed teachers to provide grades based on what students produced in class and online.
The current Year 11 and 13 students have been able to conduct mock exams face-to-face. This is thanks to the Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) who have been extremely cooperative in allowing us, even when the school was closed, to set mock exams in the school for Year 13, since by default examination halls are set up in a way that already implements COVID-19 protocols in terms of social distancing.
Over the past few years, we have worked closely with various examination boards and have been in touch with them regularly to establish what it is they need from us and what we need from them.
Now The British International School Abu Dhabi is at a stage whereby we are 99 per cent certain that exams will go ahead for the whole cohort of Year 11 and 13.
However, it is still the case that a student or more may be a close contact during the exam period or they may still contract Covid-19 during this period. Again, examination boards have worked really closely with schools to put in place mechanisms should this occur.
In such cases, practical elements in how a grade will be awarded will be implemented, for example, through teacher assessments and the work submitted thus far being taken into consideration by examination boards.
In terms of preparing for exams, there are a number of ways to revise other than taking past exam papers, answering and marking each other’s papers, providing feedback, learning how to write an exam answer and so on.
As well as those methods, students need to make sure they receive their revision timetable early, get their families involved, talk to friends, support each other, talk through the questions that might come up rather than just sitting and reading or going through past exam papers.
The British International School Abu Dhabi also has a Personal Social Moral Education (PSME) programme to ensure the mental wellbeing of students.
That said, a little bit of stress and high pressure can actually bring out the best in all of us. We want students to understand that in fact, they should feel a bit of pressure from family and the school itself during exam periods.
However, we also have a wonderful Pastoral Care and Safeguarding team at the school, form tutors, heads of years, counsellors and so on who are looking out for students.
One thing we always say to students is to eat well and sleep well to help reduce stress levels and in order to do the best they can during these high-pressure periods of school life.
For more information, visit bisadabudhabi.com
