By Yuval Israel, Year 10
With the upcoming exams in May, students will be presenting the knowledge which they have grasped throughout their time at Ecolint. Students, although nervous and intimidated by the exams, are exhilarated to know that the hard work paid off.
Students have put in tremendous amounts of work throughout this period. The year 13’s had to battle through the struggles of IB of balancing their work. This is shown as TOK, Extended essay, Internal Assessment, applying to university, the mocks, etc.
Even though this is a tense time, this is also a memorable one too. The week before the spring holidays, students throughout the high school held a colourful spirit week as a final goodbye to the year 13’s. This spirit week projected joyful costumes every day except on Thursday when it was a surprise costume held by the year 13’s who came dressed as 90’s hip hop dancers. Even though this was a joyous day, it was also a saddening and heartfelt goodbye.
The LGB Express interviewed a couple of year 13’s to ask some questions about the approaching finals:
Today, how are you feeling about the upcoming finals?
Finals do sound (and feel) quite scary, but I hope by the end of the revisions and preparations we passed through this year, I’ll feel confident, ready and good to go! – Anonymous student
Finals feel quite nerve-wracking and stressful especially because these are the final IB exams which are the thing that matters at the end of the day, at the end of these two years, it’s just, you have one shot to prove to yourself and the knowledge you know. Obviously, exams can be stressful for many people, so I’m obviously excited to finish IB and finish high school and receive my diploma but at the same time the stakes are high and you only get one shot so it’s really important to give it your all. – Anonymous student
What would you tell a student who is currently starting the process of the International Baccalaureate?
I would say to know what you want, and what your values are, and you will have to change your life, and your schedule according to what you want. For me, I didn’t exactly know what path I wanted to follow until now as before I didn’t know if I wanted to follow a path in Biochemistry or Pharmacology or becoming a doctor. This process was really hard and I’m still figuring this out but if you have a goal in mind and you know exactly what you want to do with it and how to work towards it, do it!
University applications are extremely important, such as if you want to go study abroad, such as in the US, study for the SATs early, get involved in extracurriculars, and get those extracurriculars linked to your degree. The same goes for the UK, or any other country, to follow the requirements to follow your life and study schedule.
What would you say to yourself if you could give advice on studying for the International Baccalaureate at the beginning of the year?
I would tell myself to stay consistent in studying and keep organised, you don’t want to leave work at the last minute. Consistency is key, so following an organized schedule will make the exams a piece of cake as it’s all in your head, plus build good habits, small habits lead to big results. – Anonymous student
What has been the highlight of this year and what do you look forward to after IB?
My highlight was honestly when during lunchtime, just hanging with my friends after classes, those were the best moments I cherish and remember. I look forward to meeting new people, and becoming more independent in the future as University life and high school life are very different and I know the transition will be difficult at first but I can and will adapt. I will miss school a lot but it is a new beginning. – Anonymous student
