Our beloved Grade 12 students just wrapped up their mock exams, and we caught up with them to find out what their experience the past two weeks has been like!
Gunn (Thailand)
What have you learnt from the mock exam experience?
How to take the real IB exams, what to expect, and what to look out for. For example, I learned that erasers and correction pens are not allowed at all – If you write something wrong just cross it and keep going. I also learned that you are supposed to sit at a certain distance from other people according to the IB rule. Oh, and wear warm clothes because we had to wait outside for the building for awhile before actually going into the gym!
What has been most beneficial for you?
It is very beneficial to be used to the exam conditions – including the time, the procedure, and the actual mock exams themselves.
What advice would you give G11s who will be in your position next year?
Take mocks as an opportunity to experience what it feels like to take the IB exams. And just do your best, keep in mind that they’re not the real ones yet. Definitely be compassionate to yourself with whatever happens.
What will you say to your fellow G12 classmates before the May exams?
Let’s do this together! Almost there!
Alina (Singapore)
What have you learnt from the mock exam experience?
I have learned that doing the actual exams isn’t as scary as the buildup to them. Before the exams, I would be worried and panicked, but once I was in the hall, everything was much clearer and I adopted the mindset that I would just do my best with what I knew.
Was there anything that you did not expect?
What surprised me was that it was easier to concentrate under proper exam conditions as compared to the practice exams we had taken in class. Actually being in a completely quiet environment and having no physical or mental distractions pushed me to work to the best of my abilities.
What advice would you give G11s who will be in your position next year?
Don’t take mocks too seriously, but don’t waste the opportunity either. The teachers put their time into providing you with a practice experience, so you should also put some effort into preparing for the exams. However, keep in mind that this round is more to experience being in proper exam conditions and diagnose your current position academically. Mocks results are NOT sealing your academic fate, just showing you what you need to do between now and May.
What will you say to yourself before the May exams?
Study steadily, don’t expect yourself to work at perfect efficiency but don’t let that discourage you either. Strive for your goals regardless and know that whatever work you do is getting you a step closer to what you desire to achieve, even if it may not seem so at the time.
AJ (India)
What have you learnt from the mock exam experience?
The overall experience for me felt like I had taken vaccinations to be immune against any last minute shocks that I might get when taking the actual examinations. I observed the etiquette followed in the examination room that I was not aware of before, which was helpful to me because I feel better mentally prepared and not nervous about missing on these etiquettes.
What has been most beneficial for you?
It helped me realise areas where I genuinely needed to improve, and also was beneficial in giving me an accurate prediction on whether I would be able to complete lengthy physically and mentally demanding papers (such as History Paper 3) within time.
What advice would you give G11s who will be in your position next year?
It is beneficial to spend generous time for subjects that students think they might be ‘failing’, even though it might be challenging to generate motivation to do so, going against the current might help during the mock and actual examinations.
What will you say to your fellow G12 classmates before the May exams?
Class of 2018, whatever happens, would happen for a reason. Let us try our best and relish the remaining hundred days of our high school!
Ain (Malaysia)
What have you learnt from the mock exam experience?
The examination hall wasn’t scary. You’d think that the tension would be palpable and the stress would increase tenfold, but that wasn’t the case. I found myself surprisingly calm once I was sat in my designated seat. There wasn’t anything else you could do, since the hardest part would have probably been studying enough up till that point. It’s the small, minor things that I learnt which kind of stuck with me, compared to the exam papers themselves.
I finished my Biology paper early, however there wasn’t enough time to leave the hall so I kind of just had to sit and wait for the time to past. I turned around to see if anyone had finished or was still writing, and Ms. Chien immediately comes up to me and says “Face forward and turn around”. When doing papers with a calculator, you have to leave it at the top corner of your desk before the paper starts. You can only leave the exam hall after one hour of the paper has passed, and before there is 15 minutes of the paper left. All these things I felt were important to know for the real exams, instead of the exam paper themselves – since we have access to the past papers anyway.
What has been most beneficial for you?
I guess I learnt that it’s a really good time to get most of the content down before the real exams in May. I feel comfort knowing that once I start preparing for the real deal in May, I already know quite a large portion of the content for each subject having studied (I don’t know if large portion is an accurate statement, but yea!)
What advice would you give G11s who will be in your position next year?
Looking back at how I spent my G11, I would try not to devote all your time on the heavy workload and stressing out the entire time. Yes, there’s a lot to do, but I found that G12 is significantly harder to open up space for hanging out, shopping at the outlet, going ice skating at Kazakoshi park… Work your hardest in G12, and don’t take G11 too seriously. Savor your friendships, or perhaps build new ones now when you have the chance!
What will you say to your fellow G12 classmates before the May exams?
Thank you for the most amazing three years I could ever ask for – you all hold such a special place in my heart. We’re so close to the end, let’s finish strong and making the most out of it together.
Mao (Japan)
What have you learnt from the mock exam experience?
I have learned what I do know and do not know. This gives me an idea what to study for the IB exam. For example, in Computer Science, I was going through past papers mainly but there were definition questions that appeared in the exams that were not in the past papers!
What has been most beneficial for you?
Making what I know and what I don’t know right now clear. I realized how much I have to study! I am planning to do a little review and study for each subject every day or at least once in two days. I will focus on past papers but also study the materials in different ways, like presentation, websites…
What will you say to yourself before the May exams?
“Study more and manage time well!!” or “Practice with past paper and time it.”
What will you say to your fellow G12 classmates before the May exams?
“Ganbarou!!”
