Don’t think about the exams, think about the A’s!

On Saturday, October 21, 2023, I had the opportunity to visit St. James Kilolo Secondary School. I wanted to meet and greet our school bench children and find out more about their school life and what they do as pupils.

I found all the students to be safe, healthy and well prepared for school.

During my visit, I talked to everyone about general school topics, but I made a point of talking to the students in grades 2 and 4. These will soon have important national tests. I emphasized how important it is to prepare well and do your best in all subjects, both in the sciences and the humanities.

I encouraged the candidates to remain calm and self-confident. Their teachers prepared them well and covered all the topics in the curriculum.

I spent a lot of time with the Year 4 students, giving them tips on how to answer the exam questions correctly, the importance of good handwriting and how to achieve high grades.

I also explained how to choose the right subjects for grades 5 and 6 and what methods the government uses to send particularly talented students to special schools. I also gave them advice on how to choose the right subjects for sixth form in order to achieve their future career goals after university.

Finally, I wished all the students every success in their internal final exams and the national exams for grades 2 and 4.

Students in grades 1 and 3 will take their second semester internal exams from November 27 to December 1, 2023 and close the school on December 8, 2023.

Grade 2 students will not take internal second semester exams. Instead, they will write their national exams from October 30 to December 11, 2023, and then go straight home to wait for the results, which will be announced at the end of December.

Our Grade 4 learners, Elia Mbwilinge, Grayson Myefu, Anna Mmbaga and Sarah Magova, will be sitting their final national examinations from December 13 to 30, 2023. They then go straight home and do not return until June 2024, when they enter Years 5 and 6. They will therefore not take any internal school examinations for the second semester of 2023 either.

I wish all students every success in their exams. My motto for them was: “Don’t think about the exams; think about the A’s!”

All the best to our dear students.
Edgar Mgembe