BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE Spring 2014
TRIPS
Skiing in Saas Fee
PERFORMANCE
Ski trip to Saas Fee
Bugsy Malone
TRIPS
London
INTERNATIONAL Women’s Day
Av. de Chatelaine 95A . 1219 Chatelaine
|
T: 022 795 75 10
|
www.britishschoolgeneva.ch
THE SWISS EDUCATION GROUP YOUR KEY TO AN EXCITING INTERNATIONAL CAREER! Are you dreaming of an exciting, international career in one of the world’s largest industries? The hospitality industry offers a huge range of career options right around the world. Careers that range from work on cruise ships to boutique hotels, luxury resorts, palace hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, health spa’s, airlines and much, much more.
Cesar Ritz Colleges With campuses in Lucerne, Le Bouveret and Brig, Cesar Ritz Colleges have a worldwide reputation for providing quality education programmes in International Business, Tourism and Hospitality Management. www.ritz.edu
Switzerland has a long tradition of hospitality education and is considered to be the birthplace of the modern hospitality tradition. Today, these traditions continue and graduates of the Swiss system are highly respected for their ability to function and take charge in the competitive, international hospitality environment.
Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland Specialised in the teaching of culinary arts, the two campuses in Lucerne and Le Bouveret offer students a state of the art learning environment. www.culinaryarts.ch
The five schools, which form the Swiss Education Group, SEG, prepare students for leading roles in the hospitality industry through intensive programmes, which combine academic study with practical experience. As a part of their studies, students are required to complete periods of internship, which allow them to gain valuable experience in their chosen field. The Swiss Education Group fosters close relationships with many of the world’s leading hospitality companies many of whom attend the twice-yearly recruitment forum in order to employ graduating students. Companies such as, Hyatt, Hilton, Four Seasons, Accor, Kempinski, Marriot, Ritz Carlton, Intercontinental and the Mandarin Oriental, just to name a few. Campuses are multi-cultural with students from more that 75 nationalities living and studying together. This cultural mix offers a unique living and learning experience for students and helps them to gain a understanding of different cultures that is so important for future graduates. The schools of the Swiss Education Group offer a range of programmes and qualifications from Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor and Master level.
SWISS EDUCATION GROUP Montreux | Switzerland | T +41 21 965 40 20 info@swisseducation.com | www.swisseducation.com
Hotel Institute Montreux Located in the centre of the city of Montreux, HIM offers programmes, which combine Swiss Hospitality practices with contemporary American Management expertise. www.him.ch IHTTI School of Hotel Management The Hospitality Management and Design programmes offered at IHTTI respond to the growing trend in the industry for boutique hotels and luxury brand management. www.ihtti.com Swiss Hotel Management School Programmes are based on the traditions of Swiss Hospitality Management and the exciting world of Events Management. www.shms.ch The Swiss Education Group, your first choice for a quality Swiss Hospitality Education. www.swisseducation.com
EDITORIAL
As we sprint down the track to the end of the year, you may be filled with dread at the thought of the exams, and maybe some excitement about the approaching summer. This last term at the British School of Geneva has also been filled with mixed emotions; from the treacherous piles of homework that many students were faced with, to exciting school trips, school life has certainly had its ups and downs. But who said life is meant to be easy? If everything comes to us, presented on a golden platter, and we are not challenged to work for it, then where is the reward? The many contributors, who have, both visibly and invisibly, discreetly, patiently and professionally coordinated, worked hard to create this publication and will now be rewarded by seeing their work being acknowledged by others. As it is often the small things in everyday life that make a difference, we hope this newspaper can trigger some joy in its readers again. In addition to this, we hope that this latest publication of BSG’s highly respected and globally worshipped newspaper gives you all some sound advice on how to overcome stress-related difficulties, and that it is an entertaining read during any boring spring or summer days. Goodbye and good luck to the students who will follow in our footsteps! A2 Committee Members Mia, Patricia, Julian and Devin A big THANK YOU to the student committee members and everyone else who has helped BSG Gazette take off the ground this academic year! Your contributions, comments and ideas (some more realistic than others…) have helped develop the raison d’être of our school magazine; a forum where ideas become words; words that offer a glimpse into our school life. As many of this year’s committee members will be leaving us to go to university (have the time of your life!), we are looking for students (Year 7-13) who would like to join our team and we will be conducting interviews next term. Well done to all the writers and photographers! Mrs Louise Prior and Mrs Nina Leumann
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 3
BUGSY MALONE By Daniel Nazarov
Being given the lead role of Bugsy was a big surprise to me. When I got the part, a feeling of excitement, curiosity and adventure filled my mind. I immediately plunged myself into the world of prohibition-era Chicago, an era of roaming gangsters, flamboyant bars and extravagant music. At first I was worried due to the performance being so close to the exams, but then I realised that the play as such was not a distraction from the exams, but a fun and helpful way of spending time with friends. The cast is more enthusiastic than ever and we are all rehearsing with a smile (occasionally fake) on our faces. Most of the secondary school is involved in creating this musical, each adding their own part to crafting this grand project. Tickets and flyers are being produced in masses by our very own Year 8 students; others have volunteered for costumes, props, lighting, choreography and backstage. Special thanks to our director, Mrs. Stockman, without whom this would have never been realised in all its splendour. See you on Thursday, April 10th at 19.00!
Bugsy
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 4
BUGSY MALONE
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 5
DUKE OF EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL AWARD By Mr Dawson What is the Duke of Edinburgh International Award Scheme, and why did we decide to introduce it into school? Simple, it seemed like a good idea. Well, it’s an award that has existed for 58 years, is followed each year in 130 countries worldwide, and has at any one time about 300,000 participants between the ages of 14 and 24 years. So, what are they all doing you ask? Be patient, we’ll get there. For this school year we offered it to years 10, 11 and 12, and have currently fourteen participants in two groups of seven from years 11 and 12. They hope to achieve their Bronze Award next September. Wait! “Offered? Bronze? A year?” No, it’s not free, there is a participation charge of 450 CHF, which covers inscription and the running cost of the Award. There are three levels of award, and we have started with the first level – successful candidates can go on to take Silver and Gold Awards in the following years. The aim is to finish the programme during the school year and then both offer the possibility of the Silver Award and the Bronze Award (to new candidates) for the school year beginning September 2014. So read on, because if you are not yet involved you could be in the future. It’s important to understand that the Award Scheme is voluntary. You have to want to get involved. This is really one of the key ideas, the Scheme gives young people a chance to express themselves either in new activities, or at new levels of existing activities, previously unexplored. Candidates are expected to volunteer to get involved in something that will challenge them, and to give up time and effort, and to see it through to the end. Great. But you still don’t know what you will have to do. Well, a candidate must commit to 4 activities called physical, skills, community and adventurous journey. The last one is imposed and involves organising a 2 day, outdoor expedition in the wild. For the first three the choice of activities is yours, is almost endless, and involves committing to an activity that may or may not be new to you, for a period of three months, a couple of hours a week, and being able to demonstrate real progress in that activity. Physical activity suggests sport of some sort, which could be skate-boarding to surfing, skills could be baking cakes to grooming horses, community could be working in a soup-kitchen to helping primary pupils with literacy. The choice is yours, but it has to be realistic – the D of E Award Scheme is not offering you the chance to realise your dreams, but to show that you can commit and progress in your activities. Sounds challenging? It’s supposed to be. Sounds worrying? Don’t, as you will be accompanied throughout by members of staff – Ms. Tuplin, Mr. Wiseman, Mr. Dawson – who will be your mentors. It is however rigorous, it does involve training, and it does involve on-line record keeping. You have to want to do it. And what will you get out of it? Ask the people who are doing it this year, as only those involved can really tell you. If I delve into the murky depths of my memory and think of my own D of E experience when a schoolboy – yes the Award Scheme has been going that long – it was fun, I had lots of laughs with my fellow candidates, I learned how to cook, I put on three kilos of muscle bulk, I had something that looked good to put on a future C.V., and ………….and perhaps when I finally finished I was more independent, had more self confidence, was less of a smug adolescent. As I said at the start it’s simple. It is a good idea. So talk to some of the pupils or teachers involved and find out what you need to do to be an Award candidate next year.
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 6
HOSPITALITY By Elvin Tyagi
Hospitality Management, is it the right choice for you? Elvin Tyagi studied at BSG and graduated with 3 A-level in Maths, English and Business and Economics. He is now studying for a degree in Hospitality Management at Vatel Hotel and Management School, Martigny, Switzerland. Here he shares his knowledge and insight into this interesting degree choice so you can better decide if it’s the course for you. What is Hospitality Management? Hospitality Management is a system that overlooks the daily operations of a hotel to ensure the property runs properly, flawlessly, and according to the standards of the given hotel providing guests with a pleasurable experience. This system can be segmented into different fields such as Human Resources, Finance and Accounting, Sales and Marketing and others. All the actions within the various hotel departments make up this system. Since Hospitality Industry is a very broad term there are many different areas or forms that hospitality can take. Hospitality Management gives you enough knowledge about the industry to be able to diversify to any area within the hospitality industry, either in a hotel, restaurant or a cruise. At the end of the day your objective is to make money by giving the best service possible to people who travel and make their stay memorable. What are the career paths available? During the 3 year bachelor program you cover business management courses as well as subjects related to Food and beverage (Nutrition, F&B and World Wines) and subjects developing your general knowledge about the hospitality Industry. All courses are related to hotel situations, but the principles are the same in business management courses which allows you to diversify to virtually any other field outside of hospitality such as banking. Thus you will have two choices to make: 1. Whether you want to stay in hospitality or not 2. What field of work you want to focus on within hospitality or any other industry. For example you could get a Hospitality degree, stay in the hospitality industry and work as a Human resource manager in a hotel or a cruise. OR Get a hospitality degree, switch to banking for instance and work as a Bank manager. What subjects should you study to get there? No specific requirement is needed in terms of what to study in high school. The most important field you must concentrate on is languages. The more languages you master the higher your “value” is to hotels and thus the easier it will be for you to find jobs around the world. Why study it? First of all we can agree that people will always travel whatever the economic climate or the financial situation of a household may be. People always save money to have a nice holiday somewhere far from home at least once a year. Thus, there is always a need for hospitality. In fact, this industry in the only industry that manages to always grow even during an economic downturn. And as the rule in Economics states: Higher demand causes industry growth which in turn leads to more businesses to start up creating more job opportunities. So it’s a safe choice for your future!
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 7
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY By Valentine Mberu
This day was first commemorated in 1910 at the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. A certain Clara Zetkin, the leader of the ‘Women’s Office’ for the Social Democratic Republic Party in Germany, proposed that every year in every country, there should be a day dedicated to allow women to press for their demands. This was a time when there was great social unrest and critical debate in society over women’s oppression and inequality. Since then, the day has gone from strength to strength as IWD has become a day of recognition and celebration worldwide. The day’s tradition involves honouring the women in our lives with gifts and flowers. The turn of the new millennium has brought a significant shift in the perception of women’s rights. Many of the younger generations feel that the battle for women’s rights has been fought and won. However, even with more rights for women than ever before in many aspects of society, the truth is that women are often still under-represented in the corridors of power and continue to face violence and gender discrimination in many parts of the world. Despite this, we cannot ignore the progress that women’s rights have undergone over the past century. Women are now able to do more than they have ever been able to do before. They can work, have a family, have complete control over their bodies and are able to dream big. Students in BSG were all aware of the day’s significance. They agreed that the purpose of the day was to celebrate women. Archana Madhav summed up the day well, ‘The aim of the day is to value the role played by women in society; as a day to respect the people who carried every single one of us into this world.’ Alex Yu believed the day was a time to celebrate the significance of the role of women today. Gareth Donkin added that the day was meant to celebrate the significance of women to this present day.
The fastest way to change society is to mobilize the women of the world Charles Malik
Should men have a day for themselves when we celebrate their accomplishments? The general agreement was that if society were to hold on to the idea of equality and fairness, then men should have their own special day too. Timothy Inkoom thought that, ‘Men should have their own day to commemorate their accomplishments since both genders have made a great impact on society.’ However, the question over the practicality of the proposed ‘day for men’ seemed to cause some discord among the students. As Hayley Townsend quite rightly put it, ‘There is a reason why there isn’t an International Men’s Day. It’s because women are the ones who have been side-lined for such a long time.’ This brings the question to, ‘How much progress is worth celebration?’ ‘Is it right to celebrate men as much as women are celebrated for their progress?’ The fact is men have not had such a significant, earthshattering shift in their role in society because they have always had the upper hand. If there should be a day for men with the aim of gender equality, this writer believes that any proposed International Men’s day celebrations should celebrate men’s willingness to share their success with women. So this 8th of March, let’s celebrate the women in our lives as well as the men that share their success with women. Let’s also celebrate the progress that women’s rights have made, not forgetting the efforts that were made by feminists and fellow women’s rights activists.
Happy International Women’s Day!
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 8
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 9
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 10
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 11
GEOGRAPHY EXPEDITION TO LONDON By Thomas Haylock For a short period of time in February, we were flown to London to complete our AS geography course. This is the tale of our adventures, as five AS geography students and their guide set off into the jungle of London and try to scrape interviews off of people, and search for a decent place to have lunch. Our crew was comprised of Peter Pariyo, Michael Martinez, Megan Haylock, Vanessa Albertolli, and me. Our guide was Mr Dawson, a last minute change when Mr Lille unexpectedly broke his arm. Our Destination was London. Somewhere. The locations of interest ranged from Stratford to Greenwich, to the Docklands and Canary Wharf. All of our time was spent trying to get interviews, fill out various surveys, and make notes on our surrounding area. The vast majority of this was done on foot; it was not uncommon for us to return to our cosy home with aching feet and wet coats. In terms of weather, it was raining excessively for four of the five days in which we blessed the city with our presence. As we set off into London, we moved from location to location, doing what needed to be done as efficiently as possible. Each location required different methods of data extraction but, as those of you currently involved in geography will find, major frustration was felt when using the surveys. Michael, Peter and I travelled in a group, interviewing who we could. Needless to say, we were stopped by security at several different locations, being told we needed permission. The girls, however, found no such issues and were able to complete their survey with such ease that they even interviewed a member of security. Coincidence? Hardly. It must’ve been the hoodies. Apart from scaring the local security, we had a wonderful time wondering around the place, taking pictures and nicking free brochures. Our time in London was limited, however. Time was against us so we could not waste as much time as we would have liked. The atmosphere was generally good among us and we had no problems while we were there. When we weren’t working, we were at the theatre watching the Beatles, or at the copper box, watching a basketball match. The evenings were often spent compiling our pictures and data, making sure everything was in order for the next day, as well as plenty of eating. Pestering pedestrians can be tough work and we built up some large appetites as a result. We used this to our advantage, introducing those who had never visited England to some of the finest British foods we knew of. This did not go beyond the consumption of fish and chips, and KFC. Overall, this trip was a pleasure to be on and working on what we did was as enjoyable as it was exhausting. We were able to see some things that most tourists would be unable to notice and we aim to reflect this in the reports we are to submit following the trip. It was a brilliant experience, and one I would recommend to any of you thinking of taking geography at some point in the foreseeable future.
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 12
GEOGRAPHY EXPEDITION TO LONDON
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 13
PRIMARY CHRISTMAS PLAY By Gianna Harness
It is not many times you find a play that exceeds your expectations, but the BSG primary school play certainly did exactly that. As the audience gathered together to watch the play, everyone seemed a little sceptical about how it was going to turn out. Students in secondary school and A level, as well as teachers had all heard them practise but none of us had seen it all come together. Through the mixed audience of students, teachers and parents, as well as well acclaimed critics, there were many nervous glances. The actors/actresses in the play were extremely young and it seemed to be impossible for students this young to remember their lines, act well, and on top of that, sing nicely. I don’t know about you, but I certainly would get stage fright! So, as you can imagine, as soon as the play started and the story began, there were many sighs of relief amongst people in the audience. People loosened up and started to really enjoy it. Not only did the audience enjoy it, but you could tell that the performers in the play were enjoying themselves too. Who knows.. maybe we have some future potential Oscar winners in primary school? The play was entitled, “When Sasha Got Swept Up The Chimney”. It is based around an orphan, named Sasha, being swept up a chimney due to some magic stardust, as well as her friend. This takes them on a magical adventure to the North Pole to try to save Christmas from the evil tooth-fairy, whose main goal is to ruin it. The play was fitting to the time of the year, seeing as Christmas was approaching, which boosted all our Christmas spirits. On top of the great acting and singing, there were great costumes, as well as a fantastic stage design and stage props. With everything put together, the play really was superb, and that is thanks to the students and their undeniable talents, as well as the great efforts of the teachers! Well done to everyone involved: Hard work really does pay off!
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 14
PRIMARY CHRISTMAS PLAY
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 15
SKI TRIP TO SAAS FEE By Valentine Mberu
There was excitement in the air. A feeling of anxiety made the last few hours before departure unbearable and every one of us couldn’t stop looking at the clock, ticking away at the hours. But once everything was loaded onto the coach that would take us to the snowy paradise of Saas Fee, it was all systems go! But alas, the dreaded phone call from school that announced that a pair of skis had been left behind sent the journey down a path of wrong turns and incompetent navigation from the GPS. The owner of the notorious skis, Xavier Planchette, would have to endure hours of sulky complaints from the rest of us. Few, if none of us, would let him forget that our reaching our destination was completely ruined because of the earlier incident. We had to double back to retrieve the notorious pair of skis and ended up caught in the rush hour traffic snarl up on the motorway. The journey became an epic experience of incessant complaints of ‘Are we there yet?’ and daydreams of what the next few days would be like. It seemed that we would never get there but luckily, Mrs Stockman’s proficient map reading skills saved us from getting lost further as night fell. In addition, we all forgave Xavier for the earlier incident, but not without making a joke or two out of it, of course. The next couple of days were an amalgam of experiences. For those of us who were beginners and had to learn the ropes of this exciting winter sport, it was both a challenge and a thrilling time. For the advanced skiers and snowboarders, who went off with Mr Carlos Palmeira, it was a time to improve their skills and enjoy themselves. As a first time skier, I cannot describe the feelings on my first day on the snowy slopes. The excitement mixed with the fear of the unknown was paralysing. It was during the first few hours of my first ski experience that I realised that I had muscles which I never knew I had. The bitter cold was hardly a problem, as we were all wrapped up warm and toasty. The icy wind that blew over the slopes of the ski resort seemed to stab any exposed skin with little icicles. Learning how to ski, although slightly embarrassing for me, was one of the most interesting experience I’ve ever had. The presence of much younger skiers on the slopes who zoomed past with their tiny helmets and skis not only embarrassed me with my uncoordinated and awkward falls due to lack of balance, it made me strive to at least stand up on my skis. Which I did. The feeling of accomplishment was unreal. The skiing was broken down into several hours in the morning followed by an hour for packed lunch with a few hours in the afternoon for some skiing before retiring back to the hotel. For extraordinary actions, this writer received a bell. Not just any old bell, but the bell of shame (in my case) that is passed on from one unfortunate, humiliated victim to another. On the very first day skiing, this writer couldn’t manage to stay on her feet and kept falling over and skiing right into the sides of the slope despite the repeated advice of the instructor. Not only was it frustrating but it was exhausting and it was only then that I realised how many muscles are needed to get your body off the ground. So it
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 16
SKI TRIP TO SAAS FEE
was that I was the first one in the group to acquire this shameful amulet. I had to wear it for 24 hours, except when I was asleep and taking a shower, of course. As you can imagine, I went practically everywhere with the bell hanging around my neck, the sound reminiscent of the Swiss cows in the fields down below in the valley. I’m a firm believer that a trip is only as good as what you eat during the trip. Breakfast was served at around 7.30 each morning, on a table that accommodated the entire group, as well as our ski instructors, Ben and Vickie. The usual assortment of breakfast cereals were present, pancakes and maple syrup, together with bread, jam, hot cocoa, fruit juice and as a special on the last day, bacon and eggs! Lunch was often packed in the morning after breakfast; the classic sandwich (as much as you can eat with whatever fillings) with small snacks on the side. It is surprising how much food you’ll need up in the mountains with your body freezing. Dinner was perhaps the most exciting of mealtimes. Pasta, Rice or Lasagne was usually the main course, with servings of salads and desserts to top it off. On one night, fondue was part of the menu and this writer couldn’t bring herself to try it. The idea of dipping chunks of bread into melted cheese has never appealed to me so instead I chomped down on the salad. The desserts were especially heavenly and were often anticipated. But the fun didn’t stop when the ski boots and skis were taken off, the day continued well into the night. The first evening offered an opportunity for micro-bowling in the little town of Saas Fee. This brought out the competitive side of everyone! The second night included a night out on the town, under falling snowflakes and a cup of hot cocoa for most of us. The third evening was an exhilarating night dedicated to sledging under the night sky speckled with stars followed by. On that same night, the group participated in an avalanche tracking exercise where we learnt the techniques that are used to rescue people trapped under snow. Luckily, we used proper tracking equipment and carried out practice searches with hidden transmitters in the area. After this exciting night, there was no better way to wrap up the day than with marshmallows roasted on a camp fire! The final night activities included a game of Dragon’s Den, an award season followed by a short disco before bed in the basement of our hotel. (There was always time created for some souvenir shopping which most of the girls gladly indulged in.) Saying goodbye to the slopes of Saas Fee was a sad occasion. On the contrary, I must admit that I felt rather pleased with myself for not getting injured and that leaving Saas Fee; despite its calm, chilly atmosphere, seemed to heighten the euphoria of having survived the last four days. Everyone was reluctant to go back to school for their last lessons of that Tuesday afternoon and even more depressed when we had to put all our bags into the coach. After a last check that all equipment was on board, we waved goodbye to the snow covered slopes of Saas Fee and to the devoted ski instructors who had made the last four days memorable for all of us. The ski slopes pulled further and further out of reach as we sped towards mild, humdrum Geneva. Although some of us got injured during the trip, it was an amazing experience. As Mr Palmeira said during the difficult journey to Saas Fee, ‘It’s better to start badly but finish well.’
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 17
LIFE AFTER BSG Swapping Shells By Rania Aljak Many students have experienced the inconvenience of dropping everything they’re familiar with and getting enrolled in a new school. Different faces, maybe even a disparate educational system, or a foreign language altogether. The exhaustive task of initiating new friendships. It’s tough, and we don’t always adapt as smoothly as we’d like. I, for one, have endured that in the nine or so schools I’ve been taught in since first grade. In my two years of living in Geneva, I’d attended two schools - a public Swiss school and BSG. Both institutions varied vastly from one another. For starters, I was in a special class in the public school, along with ten other students whose mother-tongue wasn’t French. The courses ensured that we engaged with one another, and through that we gained insights of the different racial and religious backgrounds of each other. It was an enriching experience. On the other hand, BSG was a small school, yet its students came from various countries: Ethiopia, Ireland, Kenya, Russia, the UK, Uganda, India, and the Philippines. Interacting with them nurtured my awareness and respect for diversity and broadened my knowledge and understanding of other cultures. In truth, it was one of my favourite years of high-school. However, at the end of that academic year, my parents bundled us up yet again and flew us back to my home country, Sudan. I was enrolled in a private school where I prepared for my IGCSEs. To be honest, I hardly prepared for anything at first. I was still coming to terms with my new environment, and I wasn’t content with it. The standard of education was very lacking when compared to the one I’d grown used to getting at BSG. The schedules weren’t set until about a month of school, some teachers weren’t present in the first weeks, not all the textbooks were available, etc. It was a mess, so I distanced myself from it and my peers. It wasn’t until several months later that I began socialising. Nearly all the students were of Sudanese origins, though a handful were Turkish. You’d think I’d have no trouble falling into step with them, but that wasn’t the case. During every conversation, I was faced with facts that I’d pushed to the back of my mind when I was in Geneva. Education for women isn’t as important as it is for men. “Why work so hard if I’m getting married at the end of the road?” “My parents want me to study this, but I’m not sure it’s what I want to be doing for the rest of my life”... They were oppressed, and I just couldn’t sit and watch, so I got out of my cocoon and started talking. I spoke of their rights and beliefs. I criticised a culture that oppressed women under a false banner of religion, and I urged them to fight back. They owed that to themselves. Less than two years later, I’d made more friends that I ever had in all the schools I’d attended combined. I’d also gotten my determination back, and it was time for my examinations. Yes, I was stressed. No, I didn’t bite my nails or freak out during a paper. I’d done my revision, and I fully expected it to pay off, and it did.
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 18
EXAM REVISION TRICKS AND TIPS By Mia Harness
1.) Stop staying that you will fail. By telling yourself this, you are essentially saying ‘why bother? I’ll do badly anyway’. If you give up like this before you even take the exam, then you’re bound to give up when you see a tricky exam question. So stop the negative thoughts. This doesn’t mean that you have to be unrealistically optimistic about the exams, but having at least a little faith in your abilities won’t hurt. You are capable of doing well. 2.) Practice, practice, practice… If you woke up one morning and were given an unexpected test on the Quantum Entanglement & Nonlocality theory, would you do well? I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t exactly ‘pass with flying colours’. To have the faith in yourself that was mentioned in point one, you must practice. Practice involves testing yourself. To do this, read your subject textbooks and then try to talk about their content in your own words. For instance, let’s say you’re preparing for an exam on biology and one of the topics is protein synthesis. Read the text in the book on protein synthesis. If, after reading it a couple times still does not make sense, look for other explanations of it in books/on the web. This might be time-consuming, but if you really want to do well then it is essential that you put in the effort. Once you’ve understood the basics of the topic, try putting it in your own words. This can be out loud (by talking to yourself about the topic), or by writing down all that you remember. Keep doing this until you are happy with your responses. Create a future review for the topic by writing down questions about it. If you later struggle with these questions, then go back and read about the topic to refresh your memory. Other subjects, such as math, can be practised by doing questions in the Edexcel textbooks. If you get a question wrong, don’t look at the work solutions immediately; instead, try other ways of working out the question until you’ve exhausted all the known possibilities. By doing this, you’ll remember the method for getting the right answer (whether you figure it out eventually, or find it on the CD), as the techniques to work out the answer has been processed in your mind more deeply. No matter what subject, however, it is vital that you do as many Edexcel papers as possible and familiarise yourself with the mark schemes. 3.) Study for whatever you dislike the most FIRST. It might not sound very encouraging, but there’s a good reason behind it. When you tackle the difficult stuff first, your energy is fresh and you are therefore able to give yourself the greatest chance of success. If you postponed the hardest topic and started on something easier, all other tasks before this task would suffer, because your mind would be stressing over the worst thing. And so, when you’re faced with a list of subjects and units to study for, identify what you most dread studying and get started on it. Checking it off the list will not only make you feel super-productive but will also give you energy to deal with all the other less menacing tasks that lie ahead of you. 4.) Stop the Interruptions. Procrastination will rule your life if you get distracted by every single ring, buzz, and ding on your electronic devices. While you may think that you’re only taking a short 5-minute break from studying by going on facebook, in reality you will get absorbed into the online world and lose focus from your task. It’s also important to realise that it is not other people interrupting you from your work (e.g by receiving facebook notifications), but; you are actually interrupting yourself (by choosing to look at the notifications). Despite the distractions of technology that our modern day has provided us with, technology can, ironically, be used to prevent such interruptions. Rescuetime.com enables you to track your every online move and provides clear and easy to read charts. Seeing the time that you wasted displayed on graphs is a wake up call. Leechblock works with the internet browser Firefox in order to allow you to block certain sites during specific periods. It follows the same principle as keeping your favourite cake out of the house; there is no temptation to eat it if it is not present.
BRITISH SCHOOL GAZETTE
Page 19