Moving on positively from Practice examinations- January 2023
Practice exams are always a daunting prospect, and the build up to them can often be an intense period of time. The most important things to consider is how to move on both academically and personally from them in a manner most effective.
From an academic viewpoint, these exams are exactly what they say they are, practice. It is essential to understand that at this point you won’t know the entire syllabus, and to achieve top grades is not expected at this point. In order to make the most of these exams, taking on teachers' feedback should be viewed as constructive, rather than blatant criticism. In the IB, the wide range of subjects can mean that this feels overwhelming and too much to handle at a given time, but I found that actively separating each subject mentally and processing the grades and feedback individually allowed me to adopt a more positive mindset regarding grades I was less pleased with. By doing this, you can do more focused work on topics where you are less confident, and this will benefit you in the long run. In my opinion, it is crucial to remember that these exams happened to help you and will help you if you act on them effectively.
Following this, your health should be the utmost priority and making sure you wind down from these exams in a way best for you. To rest after the completion of exams is key, especially in order to gain a levelled, calm, head while receiving and reacting to results. This means not stressing over the results or overworking yourself, and rather it is so important to spend time doing things you enjoy in order to gain some rest and recuperation after the exam period. Not only will this benefit you mentally, but actually allow you to concentrate on moving on and upwards from results in a positive manner.
Edie Tyler (UVI- Class of 2023)