MOCK EXAMS

[Daogroupie]

Mocks serve two purposes. A tutor can give you very detailed feedback on the work produced and highlight weak areas and that is certainly very worthwhile. That type of mock does ,as mikeboz points out, need to be done some months before when there is time to remedy the situation. The second and I think much more important purpose at this stage with just weeks to go, is that of learning to focus and write in a strange room surrounded by other children most of whom will be strangers who could well be hostile. I will never forget seeing a child overwhelmed by panic at the entrance to the exam. This was a consortium where seven local schools use the same exam. Nobody could persuade him to go in and his mother walked away with him with such a look of utter despair on her face as entry to all seven schools by exam places closed at that moment for her son. Could that have been avoided if he had already done a mock? Perhaps. What was he afraid of? Was the reality just too much to cope with? Well done to mikeboz for taking on organising something that could well make a lot of difference to the students who participate. If it was in our area I would recommend students to go along. Nothing you do at home will prepare them as well to face the room and situation itself as this will. I did an English mock for ten students a couple of weeks ago and some students did a lot better than I expected and some not so well. I would offer the paper to you Mike as I wrote it myself so nobody will have seen it except for my ten students who live hundreds of miles away, but it is comprehension with a continue the story creative writing which I dont think is your local format. Good luck and let us know how it goes. DG