For the final two weeks of the term, the boys were in exam mode with their mid-course examinations. Kerry Pacey has provided some feedback on how the exams have gone for the boys in her newsletter as she was at each of the examinations.

Over this period, there have been almost 20 exam slots – yet most boys only study six or seven subjects. As a result, the boys have been spending a great deal of time in study preparing for their upcoming exams. When the boys are spending so much time doing this, the environment that they are in is very important.

This year, we have had the boys study in the dorms rather than in classrooms. All boys, including the day students have been allocated a desk and the boys are spread out across 8 different floors. This means that the boys have plenty of room, are not distracted by others around them who may need to move and have the added bonus of air-conditioning. There is no doubt that studying in the dorms has provided the boys with a study environment that allows them to make the most out of their time.

In addition to the environment, the study is supervised each day by Year 11 teachers. This is excellent for the boys who have easy access to teachers who can assist them with any questions. As all teachers are allocated supervisions, this means that all subjects are represented and on hand to assist at different times during the examination block.

In each session I asked the supervising teachers to write down any feedback about the boys – positive or negative. When you consider that 206 boys were studying for 20 different two hour time slots, obviously there was the occassion that a boy was distracted by his comnputer and there were a couple of comments about boys using their computer incorrectly. Having said that, the feedback was overwhelmingly skewed towards positive comments. Just a few for you:

“Much better than the classrooms – no issues”.

“All working well and concentrating on their studies. Areas were neat and tidy”.

“The boys were excellent – well done”.

“All boys worked well individually and were very respectful. If they needed or wanted help they asked the supervisor first which was excellent”.

“The boys were great. A couple took a few minutes to start work but otherwise they were great. I thought the routine was spot on and the boys worked silently and on their own. Having come from schools where students are sent home or left to their own devices – this was excellent”

“All good – boys were quiet and focussed on their work”.

Congratulations to the boys on remaining focussed during study over the last couple of weeks. At times, boys had 12 hours of study before their final examination and therefore to get through this period without any issues is a great credit to them.

Photo 1: Max Benjamin (Birchgrove) making the most of his study time in his own space.

Photo 2: Patrick Carrigan-Grant (Mudgee) preparing for his exams in a clear, spacious and tidy area.