As the summer term begins, Year 10 have their first mock exams which are a practice for the daunting upcoming GCSES. The exam stress has been prominent, and this period has given the students time to think about how they revise and how they cope with content heavy revision. Despite the workload, the results seem promising and as the exam duration will come to an end this upcoming week, so celebrations are in order!

 

Yeha Kim, a year 10 student says “Honestly, the content kind of shocked me. No matter how much I revised, I felt unprepared and this taught me to start my GCSE revision early. Nonetheless, I was surprised with how well I did in the exams I had, and I think I can carry these skills with me to Year 11.” 

 

From this, I think it is important to gauge that having these exams before year 10 summer is greatly beneficial, because ultimately students have learnt a lot of the content in their board exams this year, and these exams made them revise those topics again. Additionally, with this summer ahead students can use some of their time to think about the future and consolidate all of the content that they have covered, coming into Year 11 fresh and ready for a new year of learning.

 

A lot of students have also learnt a lot about how they retain their long term memory, whether that is through active recall or note taking. Unlike most previous exams, these exams were the first ones they had which were truly content heavy (and could not be crammed for the night before). Students knuckled down and worked really hard over the Easter holidays, and they have come out victorious and knowledgeable about what works for them.

 

These exams also get the students used to the exam room and familiar with the nerves and protocol of the process. Undeniably, these results may not be the best for some but great for others, and either way, they are not an end-be-all, and can be used as a benchmark for what pupils need to work on. Even though the stress is wide-spread, the encouragement of one another in the school is so refreshing, and keeps the team spirit alive. With each other and their flashcards, the Tiffin Girls are really capable of anything.

 

With only 3 more exam days next week, most of the exam season has passed, despite the self doubt and stress, the Tiffin Girls Year 10 community has worked so hard, and will achieve amazing results. Thinking critically and positively is a necessity for exams, and I think these official formal exams will nudge students into a summer filled with slightly more productivity (and equally as much fun).