–despite the many challenges they’ve had to overcome while preparing to write the exams

STUDENTS writing the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) said that despite their learning conditions for the past four months, they are hopeful for excellent results.
On Monday, the first examination for both levels commenced, and the Guyana Chronicle visited a few central schools to speak with the students. The subject areas that were being written that day were the Foreign Languages, namely French, Spanish and Portuguese, and as such there were only a few schools opened, with a small number of students in attendance.

At St. Joseph High, some students said that their study conditions were not ideal, because of the many difficulties with the Online classes, but due to their diligence and commitment to excellence, they pursued alternative ways of getting themselves prepared.

One CAPE student, Christina Burrowes said, “The preparations for exams were kind of difficult, due to lack of resources sent by teachers. Past papers were very hard to find, and during the Online classes on Zoom, we weren’t able to understand what was going on, due to lack of face-to-face interactions. Also, Internet connection was poor for some students, so it was a really unfortunate period, but we made it out.”

Christina also noted that she was forced to join groups of Caribbean students preparing for CAPE, and that is how she was able to get the resources she needed to study. And having gotten those resources, she didn’t keep them to herself but shared them with her colleagues here.

Delicia Williams, who attends Chase Academy, said, “It was challenging with what is going on with the COVID-19 and stuff, because some days you have classes on Zoom, and those are not quite effective for us, because sometimes you don’t really understand the explanation the teachers give you from Online, and it is not the same like in the classrooms. So I would have had to read the text books, go on YouTube and get further explanations to ensure I have a full understanding. And because of that, I’m a bit more calm and confident that I’ll do well.”

Esther Grogan, also of Chase Academy, was quite enthusiastic. She said that despite the many challenges, she is ready to conquer her exams.

“The fact that we were able to stitch in a few face-to-face classes during the week made it a bit better for our preparations,” Esther said, adding: “For me, it was difficult to learn through Zoom classes, so most of the times when the teacher is finished with the work, I’ll collect notes so I can read up and do more research in order to get a more in-depth understanding. So I’m ready for exams! I’m going in there and I know that I will pass!”
Two friends, Omari Kewley and Kenny Ordonez, who were making their way to school, said that their only challenge was WiFi connection to stay abreast with the Zoom classes.

The analogue methods did not fail, however, since the boys said that their school notes and Past Papers were their major source of knowledge for the past four months.
None of the students the Guyana Chronicle engaged had any concerns about the Coronavirus or precautionary health measures available at the school; they were all focused on the examinations, and how well they will perform.