Thinking Allowed: Sitting exams

We never meant to adopt the British education system. It just kind of happened. None of us had ever heard of the British exam system aside from in Harry Potter, though even then, I never realised that the books' exams were based on the real system. When exploring ways in which to help out Aurora's university application chances the British system of exam taking was the most versatile and travel friendly. Thanks to colonialism there are many countries in the world that use the British exam system either as their main form of education or as the most popular option among the private schools. There are not many other education systems that have such a global method of evaluation that is also globally respected. I like that no matter what continent we are on we can generally find others who have gone through the same set of exams.

Last set of exams Aurora completed in Lima, Peru. This time we are writing exams in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Same exam board and same exam content but entirely different experiences. In Lima we went through the British Council, which despite its name, was very Peruvian in organisational approach. Aurora was always the only one taking the exam with a preceptor and the location would rotate among a few co-working spaces - except we would have to call them the night before to find out the location of the next day's exams. Aurora would show up to her exam three minutes before hand, as would her preceptor. Her preceptor followed the rules to the word, except when she felt it didn't really make sense or matter. In Kuala Lumpur the girls are registered with a private international school that accepts independent test takers. They are hyper-responsive and organized. The girls are required to show up an hour before the exam time and they take the exam with the schools students. The rules are followed precisely and the school sends out regular notices reminding exam takers of the rules and requirements. The night before the exam they send me a reminder message of the next days exam time and subject. Aurora smiles when she talks about sitting exams in Peru in numerous rooms alone with the same preceptor whose name she never learned - but - she says she prefers the system here.

The British really take their exams seriously and there are so many exams over a six week period. Sophia this time around had 10 exams and Aurora 7. Six weeks kind of feels like a long period of time. I am sure both girls are excited to be done with exams next week and move back into study mode. Still, it has been a good experience and all the kids have had a great time in Kuala Lumpur. Though we are all excited for something more natural, the city has grown on us.