Fermanagh Year 14 students glad to be sitting A-Level exams

On May 17, 2021 the former Education Minister, Peter Weir announced a return to public examinations during the next academic year.

According to the Department of Education, students will, however, have fewer examinations in 2022 and there will be significant reductions in assessment across the range of CCEA qualifications.

For many Fermanagh students, this summer will be the first time in two years that they will have sat external exams.

Both Simon Kidney and Paul McConkey, Year 14 students at Enniskillen Royal Grammar School haven't sat external exams since they sat GCSE exams whilst in Year 11.

Talking to The Impartial Reporter this week, Simon and Paul share their thoughts on sitting their A-Level exams this summer.

Simon Kidney, ERGS.

Speaking to this newspaper, Simon said he is "glad" that he will be able to sit his A-Level exams.

"I'm glad we're able to prove ourselves finally," he said.

He explained that towards the end of his GCSE year and throughout his AS-Level year there was adding "constant pressure" due to the uncertainty of whether the exams would go ahead or not in 2020 and 2021.

"You either were going to be assessed on the work you were doing then or you were going to have to do exams if that was a possibility," he said, adding: "So now we know, most likely, we are going to have exams so we know we have to put the work in for that."

Although Simon hasn't done any external exams since his GCSEs, he has completed mock exams in school.

"We've had a lot of mock exams and the way our exams are done in school, they are sort of done like the real thing. We've had to do mocks for each year and each of those years they've been done the exact same way.

"The whole process isn't really frightening, it's just the prospect of it all coming down to one day I suppose," he told this newspaper.

Paul McConkey.

Paul, who is the current Head Boy of Enniskillen Royal Grammar School is hoping to study Medicine at university following the completion of his A-Levels.

Talking about his thoughts on a return to examinations this summer, he said: "Although it'll be hard enough to get back into the exam technique of doing a proper exam, I think it's probably the fairest way to do it. Sometimes the other way it was unfair depending on how the different schools graded. Whereas if we go back to exams, at least it'll be fully even."

"I probably prefer exams so it might suit me a bit better going back to it but I'll probably still be nervous going back into full official exams that will account for all of our grade over the years," said Paul, noting that he doesn't have any AS examination results "to know sort of where you stand" before going in to the exam.

"They don't count for it this year. It's all on these [upcoming A-Level] exams," he added.