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[News] Exam season



astralavi

Active member
Apr 6, 2017
471
With Many students doings exams at this time, do you think the concerns about the new GCSE's and A levels are correct?

'Pupils have delivered a damning verdict on the revamped GCSEs, saying they have caused mental exhaustion, panic attacks, crying, nosebleeds, sleepless nights, hair loss and outbreaks of acne.'

'One London student complained of having two exams a day on five days within two weeks. “I have burst into tears multiple times on public transport after finishing an exam, and I have seen this to be the case with lots of my peers as well,” they said.'

'However, another student from Manchester praised the tougher exams. “I believe that doing these exams builds up work ethic and resilience, something that is lacking in this generation,” they said. And a pupil from Reading said: “I do feel that the change is for the better, however, I think that the process was very rushed.'”


Do you know anyone doing these exams? How did you approach your exams? Are exams that much different today?

https://www.theguardian.com/educati...es-affected-pupils-panic-attacks-crying-exams
 






astralavi

Active member
Apr 6, 2017
471

Maybe, it's also an interesting societal question. I'm also marking exam papers atmo and occasionally some students write (genuinely) sad messages on the scripts when they dont have the answers

e.g

aqa.JPG
 
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beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,963
i think this could serve as evidence previous exam structures were too easy.

of course, in reality exams or any testing are always stressful events so there is bound to be incidence of health being affected. is it more or less than previous years, no idea as all we have is anecdotal "evidence" from media selling a story.
 


Frutos

.
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
May 3, 2006
36,257
Northumberland
I did my GCSE's 18 years ago and remember having two exams a day on multiple days within the exam period - I don't recall seeing anyone bursting into tears over it.
 




Wrong-Direction

Well-known member
Mar 10, 2013
13,601
I still have nightmares of being back at school

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk
 


pasty

A different kind of pasty
Jul 5, 2003
30,973
West, West, West Sussex
I did my GCSE's 18 years ago and remember having two exams a day on multiple days within the exam period - I don't recall seeing anyone bursting into tears over it.

This. Except they were O-Levels and over 35 years ago.
 


Springal

Well-known member
Feb 12, 2005
24,731
GOSBTS
I did mine during 2002 World Cup and let me tell you that was torture !
 






Geestar

New member
Nov 6, 2012
3,421
Shoreham Beach
Currently working as an Exam Invigilator for GCSE and A levels.

The amount of exams is a joke....Science alone is 6 different exams.

Saying that I haven't had any tears/breakdowns, although it is a rougher school

Sent from my TA-1020 using Tapatalk
 


Lower West Stander

Well-known member
Mar 25, 2012
4,753
Back in Sussex
Bound to be loads of snowflake analysis on mental health.

It cannot be any more stressful than when I did my O levels in the 80s. Or A Levels for that matter.

And for my degree I did 15 exams in 2 and a half weeks.....
 




Jakeg

Active member
Feb 7, 2016
202
My youngest brother has just finished his A level exams, I don’t think the difficulty of them is the issue I think it’s more the volume. He was doing 4 A levels and had 15 exams in the space of 3 weeks. He said that he found that when he got about midway through he started to burn out abit. Exams are draining and I remeber from my days at school and college of being overly tired and stressed, I understand lots of people deal with pressure situations in life and exams can be seen as good practice for them, however I believe it would be much fairer on students if exams were to be spread over a longer period e.g 2 months rather than the increasingly intense short period we have now.
 




Marshy

Well-known member
Jul 6, 2003
19,946
FRUIT OF THE BLOOM
my son finished his last Friday, and declared them pretty easy....

He has been studying for 6 months... you prepare properly and you will do fine.

There are a lot of exams it has to be said.
 




Lindfield23

Well-known member
Dec 14, 2016
772
Just done my penultimate A-Level exam - the tests are challenging, but then again, that's how they should be:lolol:
Having said that, what really grinds my gears is when an exam board f*ck up a test (for instance, when the audio tapes for the Eduqas French exam were mixed up, rendering it near impossible to complete the exam on time). Here's hoping all the hard work pays off:angel:
 


Notters

Well-known member
Oct 20, 2003
24,887
Guiseley
I'm probably a weirdo, but found exams one of the most enjoyable parts of school.

I also found most of them a damned sight easier than anything I've ever had to do for work.
 




Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
55,731
Faversham
O levels 45 years ago....I never gave the timetable a second thought. My uni finals were intense, three 3h exams in a day and a half at one point, but because I had done all my coursework, and had revised systematically, I was ready, relaxed and did well. I actually enjoyed it.

The most stressful exam I ever took was the eleven plus. The critical importance of going to HGSB where statistically 60% of the first year intake made it to uni, versus Mile Oak where there was no sixth form at the time, was very obvious to me. After that, exams got easier, owing to experience. Fancy that, eh?

There were tears and what not at every level of study, from other students, in my experience, though. That is the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest; if we want a nation of nothing other than artisans with no qualifications, empoyed as 'sorcerer's apprectices' and eventual successors to their dad, sure, let's take the stress out of school and uni and allow everyone to graduate with a prize similar to the one Danny Baker gives to winners of the sausage sandwich game. If, on the other hand, we have an eye on a different prize, involving competition for limited opportunities and high rewards, it may be, how can I put this? Difficult.

Bollocks. I fell for the :fishing: didn't I. :facepalm::lolol:
 




Beanstalk

Well-known member
Apr 5, 2017
3,014
London
Just done my penultimate A-Level exam - the tests are challenging, but then again, that's how they should be:lolol:
Having said that, what really grinds my gears is when an exam board f*ck up a test (for instance, when the audio tapes for the Eduqas French exam were mixed up, rendering it near impossible to complete the exam on time). Here's hoping all the hard work pays off:angel:

Good luck! I'm sure come results day you'll be happy as Larry.

Exams are a terrible way of testing people's intelligence. Always under completely unnatural conditions and in reality, a test of how people cope under pressure rather than a measure of the student's ability.

What I would say is that they act as gates to the next stage of your life. Pass your A levels, and get onto the next thing (Uni/Job). As long as you were able to move forward nobody will care what grades you got in ANY job.
 
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