A-level delight as UAE pupils clear tougher exam hurdles in style
▶ There were cheers and tears across the country as teenagers learnt how they fared in exams that sparked controversy, write Kelly Clarke and Anam Rizvi
Sleepless nights were followed by a joyous morning for pupils in the Emirates celebrating A-level exam success.
This year’s tests were said to be among the most challenging for years, but it was mission accomplished for scores of talented teenagers now looking forward to university life in the UAE and abroad.
While in previous years critics branded A-level exams easy, the latest debate focused on subjects such as science and mathematics being too hard, with top A grades being awarded for scores as low as 54 per cent owing to the taxing nature of the questions.
It followed a wave of controversy in the UK this year over leaks of exam papers in June
Years of studying and months of intense revision paid off, however, for many hard-working UAE students.
After a welcome respite from the rigours of stringent assessments, bright youngsters can now look forward to the future. As ever on results day, there were inspiring stories lurking behind the bright smiles and tears of joy.
One pupil, Karishma Deegan, of British School Al Khubairat, in Abu Dhabi, escaped the frenzied atmosphere of the school hall to open her results in a nearby church.
In this tranquil atmosphere she discovered she had scooped the straight As that secured her place at Imperial College London.
Her delight was shared by many who created golden memories at a school that marked its 50th anniversary last year.
Nearly half of all results were an A* or A grade, leaving headteacher Mark Leppard glowing with pride over the efforts of the high-achieving class of 2019.
“This is a record year for us and we are really proud. Exam grades have increased year on year thanks to the amazing teachers, support staff and, of course, pupils,” he said.
Success ran in the family for twins Charlie and Harry Thomas, who sat exams at Jumeirah College and will be heading to the UK to begin their higher education after getting the required grades Another Jumeirah College pupil, Manal Riza Muhammed, 18, from Sri Lanka, admitted the difficulty of the mathematics paper sent stress levels soaring.
If the bar was set high, she still managed to vault over it comfortably by attaining an A* and a brace of As.
Simon Corns, headmaster at Brighton College Abu Dhabi, said pupils had risen to the challenge posed by this year’s tough tests, as an impressive 40 per cent of results were graded either A* or A.
British curriculum pupils across the UAE received their A-level results on Thursday after what were said to be the toughest exams in years. Parents, teachers and pupils waited nervously for the results, which went live at 9am.
There were tears and cries of joy as teenagers opened their letters or logged on to the British exam portal to see how they had fared.
A-level exams have been the subject of controversy in the UK this year with leaks of exam papers in June.
Maths and science tests were so difficult that A grades were awarded to pupils scoring as low as 54 per cent.
At the British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi, 97 pupils took A-level exams this year. Karishma Deegan, 18, was first to arrive on Thursday and waited anxiously for her results.
“I’ve been awake since 6am, unable to sleep, just waiting to see how I did,” she told The National.
After opening her letter in a church across the road from the school, Karishma found she had earned an A* in mathematics and A grades in biology and chemistry. In September, she will begin a biomedical degree at Imperial College London.
Classmate Nico Westermann from Germany received an A in economics and Bs in maths and chemistry.
“I actually landed from Budapest this morning at 6am.
“I haven’t slept right for seven days waiting for these results,” he said.
He was disappointed to find his conditional offer to study at Durham University was rejected.
“I needed three As for Durham, but my insurance offer to study economics at Leeds University didn’t work out either. Leeds University switched my course offer to chemistry, so I rejected it.”
After going through clearing on the Ucas website, Nico has since been offered placements to study economics at Cardiff University or Royal Holloway, University of London.
“I need to make a decision by midnight tonight,” he said.
Forty-six per cent of pupils at BSAK received A* to A grades, and 67 per cent secured A* to B grades.
Twenty-five pupils received three A* to A grades and 41 students received three A* to B grades. Six pupils came out with all A* grades.
A-level examinations are graded on a scale of A* to E.
Mark Leppard, the headmaster, said this year’s A-level results were the perfect end to the school’s 50th year anniversary celebrations.
“This is a record year for us and we are really proud. Exam grades have increased year on year thanks to the amazing teachers, support staff and, of course, pupils.”
A further 16 pupils at the school took Business and Technology Education Council exams this year. All received a distinction* or distinction grade, which is the same as an A* or A grade in A-levels.
At Jumeirah College in Dubai, scores of pupils turned up in person to collect their results.
Abdul Rahim Khater, 18, a Canadian-Palestinian pupil, was excited to receive three As and an A*.
He has a place to study medicine at the University of Nottingham.
“I was very happy with my results, especially in Arabic, because I thought I did really badly but I ended up getting an A. In mathematics I got an A* so I am very happy with that.”
A-level grade boundaries from the country’s two exam boards – Pearson/Edexcel and OCR – were leaked on social media on Wednesday, revealing pupils required only a little over 50 per cent to be awarded an A in key subjects.
Pupils secured an A in maths if they scored 54 per cent or above, the lowest to date.
Those with a 43 per cent score were awarded a B.
Edexcel’s biology students needed 56 per cent – 167 marks out of 300 – for an A, while OCR’s candidates needed 59 per cent, or 158 out of 270.
In June, examination board Edexcel also announced that several maths exam questions had been circulated on social media a day before pupils headed to examination halls.
Media reports suggested the entire paper had been leaked.
Of the 97 pupils at BSAK who received results on Thursday, 59 sat a maths paper.
“We haven’t been contacted by the exam board so it looks like no students at BSAK were affected by the leak,” Mr Leppard said. “It did put a lot of stress on students before the exam though.”
Nico and Karishma both scored high grades in the maths exam.
“We were told at the end of Year 12 that the maths paper was going to be the hardest yet, so we just buckled down and did whatever we could to prepare with our teachers,” Karishma said.
Previously, pupils would take their A levels in chunks throughout the year, but last year, the exams underwent a reform. Now, everything is dependent on the final exams, meaning the expectations on pupils are much greater.
Jumeirah College pupil Manal Riza Muhammed, 18, from Sri Lanka, managed to secure one A* and two As, but said stress levels were high in the lead-up to exams.
“They were much harder than any other year. When we revise we go through so many papers, but in mathematics the paper we got was nothing like the previous years,” she said.
Eighteen-year-old twins Charlie and Harry Thomas from Jumeirah College are heading to the UK for university.
“This year, some of the exams were tougher, especially literature,” Charlie said.
Despite reports that top grades for A levels have fallen to their lowest level in more than a decade in the UK, several schools across the UAE reported their best results yet.
Simon Corns, headmaster at Brighton College Abu Dhabi, said 40 per cent of results at the school were between A* and A. He was pleased pupils achieved better grades than predicted.
“I think the exams were more rigorous this year and our pupils rose to the challenge,” Mr Corns said. Dubai British School, run by the education company Taaleem, said the class of 2019 achieved the best post-16 results in the school’s history, with 78 per cent of all grades at A* to B – an increase in performance of 5 per cent from last year’s results.
At Dubai College, 26 per cent of grades were A* and pupils secured places at Cambridge, Oxford, Princeton, Yale and Columbia.
Bobby Trivic, head of sixth form, said of pupils that “against an ever-changing educational backdrop, they have once again proven their academic pedigree”.
I actually landed from Budapest this morning at 6am. I haven’t slept right for seven days waiting for these results NICO WESTERMANN British School Al Khubairat pupil