With exam season looming on the horizon, many secondary school students are having to isolate themselves and miss out on school, due to coming into contact with someone who has Covid-19. The contact tracing system which schools have put in place has resulted in hundreds of pupils having to quarantine.
Staying at home has put a considerable strain on many students, but especially those in year 11. These pupils are frantically preparing for their upcoming mock exams, most of which are in January, but many cannot see their teachers in person. Ananya Mathi is a year 11 student who has been asked to self-isolate.
“It’s come at a really bad time,” she says. “My first reaction was, ‘oh no’, because obviously it’s so close to mocks.”
As if this wasn’t stressful enough, any pupils taking language GCSEs are facing another problem: speaking exams have been moved forward. For this year only, oral exams will no longer count towards the official GCSE grade, instead being recognised as an “endorsement” on results sheets. However, this means that they are taking place a lot earlier and are still nerve-racking. Due to Ananya’s isolation, she is going to miss her Spanish speaking exam, which was scheduled for next week.
“I just wanted to get them over with.” she says. “It was already stressful, but now that we don’t know what’s happening or if they’ll be pushed back, it’s even worse.”
Despite her initial fear and anxiety, Ananya adds that she is “trying to be optimistic.”
The coronavirus pandemic has sent curveballs flying at all of us, and it seems easy to become overwhelmed by disruptions to our daily lives, schoolwork and exams. However, it’s important to remember that many people around the world are facing similar challenges and we can all, like Ananya, be optimistic and push through.
