After a welcomed and restful break, it is good to get back into the rhythm of school life. After spending 12 years in a cold country, I for one am enjoying the bracing weather that Shanghai is currently enjoying. In the last Newsletter I alluded to the fact that Schools are more than just an academic institute, and whilst this holds true, one of the most important aspects of Secondary school life takes place next week, the dreaded Mock exams.
The purpose of the Mock exams is twofold. It gives students an understanding of how formal examinations are run. Students get to experience true exam conditions, how to approach revision for multiple exams and what to expect in the actual exam paper. This experience will at least remove one stress factor come the real exams in the summer. Another important aspect of the Mocks is the feedback they provide to teachers, students and parents. The results allow us to spot gaps in knowledge, if we can highlight them beforehand, we have time to intervene. The results can also be a great benchmark to measure progress between now and the summer. As always, we wish our Yr 11,12 & 13 students good luck in their Mock exams.
Aside from the academics, staff from across the whole school have come together to form a number of committees. Each committee will take responsibility for such things as organising events and promoting awareness of important issues for the school community. It promises to be another busy term for Britannica and I look forward to seeing some of the fantastic ideas that the Committees have planned.
Anthony O’Brien
Head of Secondary
