Issue No. 4 (6 September 2019)

We have invited our Year 12 students to tell us the secrets of their tremendous IGCSE success. We suggest younger students should read this carefully!

Two weeks ago, our now-Year 12 students faced a nerve-wracking but definitely rewarding day for all as we opened up our second set of GCSE results. Continuing on the tradition of last year, we at SIS think it is important not only to celebrate those that have achieved top scores, but everyone’s personal achievements. We could not be prouder of our cohort as we have all persevered through the times where we have struggled, felt stressed, or dealt with other hardships before finally reaching the end of our GCSEs. We have all put in a lot of time and effort in the past two years, and this deserves recognition and massive congratulations. Therefore, here are a few stories showcasing some exceptional GCSE journeys, which truly embody the importance of a GROWTH MINDSET throughout the 2 years. 

Cassidy Cheng of 12K1 highlights her resilience and how we shouldn’t be easily swayed by others’ negative opinions:

“In Year 10, I struggled a lot with Biology. It was really difficult to understand concepts, and I could never remember any of the terms. So obviously, I failed the first test, and feeling so ashamed and disappointed with myself,  I hid my results from my parents and decided to study harder for the next test. When the next test came, I got 40%. Although it was an improvement, it still wasn’t great. Moreover, someone had said that they didn’t think I would be able to work in the scientific field with grades like mine. This made me lose hope and I almost wanted to give up, but instead I used this to motivate myself to work even harder than before. At home, I rewrote notes from my lessons and did loads of past papers. In the third test I ended up getting 65%, never thinking that I could improve so much! But I wanted to do even better, so I started finding more resources and watched youtube videos on topics to consolidate my understanding. After the third test, my results only got better and better. I went from getting 30-40% in my tests to being three marks off a 9,8 in my final Science grade! I would never have done it if I had just given up after the first two tests. GCSEs have been a great learning experience; it has taught me to not only never give up, but also to not let other people’s negative opinion affect you.”

Chae Eun Son of 12S2 describes the importance of perseverance throughout the GCSEs:

“As we entered our final project for textiles, it felt impossible to keep up with the coursework whilst revising for other subjects. It got to a point where I was determined to quit, until my amazing tutor reminded me of the effort and time I’d spent on textiles and how close I was to completing that course. I couldn’t quit just because it was getting hard to manage my time. Although I was struggling, this made me focus on balancing my time out equally for all subjects. I got a 5 in my mocks but ended up with a 9 in my finals! I couldn’t have been happier that I persisted and did not give up. So don’t let your predicted grades restrict you and bring you down; instead, use this to motivate you and push you further. If you did not get the grades you were hoping for, don’t put yourself down, but shift your focus on your revision technique and experiment with others. This process of trial and error was what helped me in the end, along with identifying my strengths and weaknesses. I strongly believe that the past grades should not restrict you, as if you are persistently putting in the effort there will be nothing stopping you from achieving your goal!”

Justin Wong of 12S1 emphasizes on the significance of resilience during tough times:

“Prior to the exams I had a lot of distractions and personal issues that were happening in my life which were beyond my control. However, throughout GCSEs, I learnt to force myself to tune out these other things and compartmentalise certain emotions in order to focus on what was most important to myself, and what I could actually control. Thus I decided to dedicate my time and effort in an attempt to achieve to the best of my abilities academically. Gradually, I improved as I learned how to organise my workload and communicated with my teachers and peers to consolidate my learning. My word of advice for younger years would be to realise that your teachers are always there for you and don’t give up even at the very last second.”

Lavanya Arya of 12M2 reflects on how she’s learnt to better manage her time in the past 2 years:

“During my GCSE journey, I had signed up for a lot of activities that eventually became too much to handle, and consequently, I started to struggle to manage all my activities and the growing pressure in school. At times, I found it hard to find the motivation to work hard; I was tired of constantly working and that was reflected in my grades. Although I got a good set of results for my mocks, I was disappointed with myself because I knew that I could have done better if I just had more time. My time management skills were really put to the test; I had no scope to procrastinate which now looking back on it was actually very useful. Although juggling everything was stressful, it taught me a lot of valuable lessons on time management. There were several times when I just wanted to give up, but I pushed through and got to the other side. By the time my GCSEs came around, I was very prepared because I was used to working hard and managing several things at once. So I ended up with results that I was extremely proud of because I knew that I had studied diligently and had given it my all.”

Hattie Conway of 12C2 describes how she balanced her academics alongside an intense study of dance outside of school:

“Before the GCSEs, I didn’t work very hard in subjects that I didn’t really enjoy such as Maths and Science. But once Year 10 started, I was determined to succeed, entering the year with an open mind and a positive attitude. I started to enjoy logical exercises: each of them like a puzzle that I had to solve. I also discovered my personal way of revising early on. For me, being a lover of all things creative, I made cue cards after each unit that I then learnt off by heart. I also had the challenge of balancing my dance and drama commitments outside of school: during the exam period I was doing at least 18 hours of dance each week. So how did I stay on top of it? I think knowing my limited time for homework and revision allowed me to work productively and remain motivated as there was no time to procrastinate! Now, having seen my results, I couldn’t be happier. Thinking back to Year 9 getting D/Es for Maths and Cs for Science, and achieving As and A*s in my final exams, I feel that it’s crazy how much determination and a positive mindset can do.”

Kitty Redding of 12B1 notes the difficulties she’s dealt with when joining the school halfway into the GCSE course:

“Coming into Year 11 having not done GCSEs in my last school, I was faced with many challenges, the biggest one being that I had not done any of the Year 10 course. I was given the option of not doing any GCSEs and just getting through the year, however, I gave myself the goal to get at least 5. I took subjects that I thought I had enough knowledge from my previous schools and that I felt confident enough in doing an exam in 8 months: Spanish, French, Maths, English language and Global Perspectives. Going into a new system and a new school was hard, so I entered with an open mind. However, as the work piled in and the pressure of mocks and exams were looming, I could feel myself becoming increasingly overwhelmed and overly stressed. There were times when I wanted to quit, when I regretted not taking up the offer of not doing any exams and when I was so controlled by my emotions I would just break down. Despite all of this, all my teachers were extremely supportive, especially my tutor Ms Diaz and my maths teacher, Ms Vasile. Having always struggled with Maths, their constant support and encouragement helped me a lot, so getting my results back and passing Maths was a huge achievement for me.”

Finally, Zoe Lu of 12S2 reflects on her emotional rollercoaster journey, which ultimately led to success:

“During the start of my last year of GCSEs, I was faced with a chain of the most emotional obstacles in my life. One of my family members was diagnosed with a chronic illness and since then, trouble just kept pouring in – like a never closing tap. Being a Year 11 student approaching her mocks, I started to feel burdened and worried, as I felt I would not be able to live up to the high expectations of myself and those around me. Feeling overwhelmed, I turned to my tutor – Mrs Nicholas, who gave me tremendous guidance and support. She reminded me that although academics are essential, my well-being should be prioritised. I took her advice and delved into my other interests, such as volunteering in an NGO and playing sports; which diverted my attention from the stressful events. It was during those times I realised the importance of a support system, and the meaning behind the phrase: ‘being able to feel weak is a strength’. Entering my final exams, despite the situation, I was finally able to feel relaxed and calm. It is the ability to look past situations with an optimistic outlook in life that ultimately led me to achieve an incredible set of results that I’m indeed proud of.”

Article co-ordinated and written by Michele Liu 12S1

Another successful year for the IN Department

After all the hard work and effort throughout last year, we are very pleased to report that students achieved a 100% pass rate for Entry Level Certificates (ELC) in the core subjects of English, Maths, and Science. We are also delighted to announce that four students in Years 10 – 13 were successful at external moderation for the ASDAN Bronze/Silver award and passed with flying colours. Two students – Anmol Bhojwani and Matthew Ho –  achieved the Silver award, and another two students – Ben Lim and Justin Tan – completed the Bronze award.

A special mention should also go to Suzy Ingrouille who worked extremely hard to achieve three A-C equivalent iGCSEs as well as passing the EL BTEC Art & Design course. Likewise, well done to Justin Tan who achieved his predicted grade in his iGCSE Maths and also passed the EL English (Silver) and BTEC Art & Design courses. Finally, we would like to say a huge well done to Matthew Ho who passed his  IB SL Chinese and IB SL Maths courses with scores above his predicted grades. 

Congratulations to all the students for their individual achievements and a big thank you to parents and staff for all their contributions and support with the ASDAN and Entry Level courses last year!

The Education Bureau of Hong Kong has been quick to congratulate Rachel Lu (11K2) on winning a bronze medal in the 18^th China Girls Mathematical Olympiad, recently held in the city of Wuhan. Let us do the same and also be inspired by the tremendous hard work that Rachel must have put in for her achievement! This year’s competition was tough as usual, with mathematically gifted participants from mainland China, Macau, Singapore, the Philippines, and Russia. Congratulations again to Rachel!