Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Schools are back and the kingdom's leading academies of learning have been celebrating the success of their senior students. GulfWeekly's Anasuya Kesavan, above, caught up with some of the inspirational pupils at St Christoper's and the British School to seek their top study secrets.
While securing maximum A*s was the aim of the St Christopher School's GCSE students, some of the meritorious pupils, all aged 16, believe that they purely performed to the best of their abilities while not succumbing to peer or parent pressure.
Anant Bahl, said: "We trusted our abilities to perform and maintain our grades and performance. There was healthy competition and most of us were self-motivated."
While his colleague Ayman Saeed admitted to being repeatedly reminded by his parents of his responsibility to his studies, Gabriella Denlew believed in tackling exam-related stress and taking on the responsibility of understanding and working on her weaknesses.
She said: "I believed in resting a lot and not stressing too much - especially right before the exam. I was getting a C in Maths and I just had to improve so I took some intensive classes with an outside tutor that helped me focus and perform better."
Andrea Sequeira believes that the teachers marked their pre-GCSE papers a little harder than the actual exam and this provided a great incentive for her to work harder.
The students were very thankful to the open door policy of their teachers and thanked their Maths teachers for staying after school and taking extra classes.
Gabriella specially thanked Mr Steve Martin, her Geography teacher, who she said was "a great moral support." Anant added: "Our teachers gave us a structured approach that best suited our abilities."
Can the choice of subjects help students get better grades? The collective opinion was that it is best to choose subjects according to one's abilities and choice of career options.
Ayman, who took Arts as one of the options, said: "Art was fun but there was a lot of workload and we were working to deadlines. It was not just about doing a nice painting ... it was quite intensive."
Maryam who had opted for Design Technology (DT) said: "Picking a range of subjects will help us later in life. DT is a lot of work and teaches you a lot of practical aspects of life. We design our own product, research and make it and finally evaluate its usefulness. It was extremely satisfying and enjoyable."
Gabriella who came from a Swedish curriculum and had no previous experience of studying DT, international history or drama, said: "I liked drama because it suited my outgoing personality. We had to do a lot of practical work ... stay after school, learn lines and study for the exams."
Anant, Andrea and Gabriella have chosen to pursue the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme while Maryam, Ayman and Samatha have chosen to take A-levels.
Anant summed up the reasons, saying: "IB develops your character as a whole. Creativity, action and service (CAS) is an integral part of the whole diploma that prompts you to look beyond academics and give something back to the community. It challenges you to look at multiple choices and build on your knowledge."
Anant, who has always played the piano, is now looking forward to learning another musical instrument and to work on his cricket and tennis abilities to become a coach.
Fact-file
The pass rate at Advanced level was 99.7 per cent across all taught A-levels, with 38 per cent being given grade A and 63 per cent being awarded grade A or B. The students who earned these results have gone on to universities and colleges in the UK, US and around the world.
In the GCSE examinations the percentage of grades A* to C was 94 per cent. Over 49 per cent were graded A* (the 'super' A) or As.
Fifteen students obtained A* and A grades in every standard GCSE examination that they sat.
The top 40 per cent of students in the year group (49 students in all) obtained A* or A grades in 84 per cent of all of the exams that they entered.
Good advice
Anant Bahl (8A* and 3A)
Prepare for the best you can do. Once your exams are over you should not have any regrets. Stay on top of what you are doing and if you do not understand remember to consult teachers as they are highly supportive. Past papers are extremely helpful.
Andrea Sequeira (8A* and 2A)
Don't leave anything to the last minute. Start preparing for GCSE in Year 10 and gradually build up your pace. Understanding your concepts will help you build your knowledge.
Ayman Saeed (9A* and 2A)
A good set of notes from Year 10 and Year 11 is very important. Keep them in an organised file as they are extremely helpful especially when you are stuck somewhere. And never get carried away by one subject.
Gabriella Denlew (8A*)
Organise your time. Do not have too high expectations of yourself as it's easy to get disappointed but have confidence and believe in yourself. Remain calm - don't freak out.
Maryam Mir (10A*)
Persistence and focus is the key to success. Listen in class as a large part of learning happens there. Try your best, aim high. Make sure that you read the examination question properly.
Samantha Carlsson 7A* and 3A
Work the whole year and not just during your study leave. Organise your work and file notes and make mini-guides for every subject.
Working hard and flying high
Students at the British School of Bahrain were pleased that their hard work and effort to achieve high grades has paid off.
At the GCSE examinations Richa D'Souza, Tamara Eggeling, Zainab Mahmood and Anna Nguyen-Minh were congratulated by their teachers for achieving eight or more A/A* grades.
The pupils acknowledge that the results did not come easy. Zainab Mahmood, 17, said: "Getting A*s was important to me as was doing my very best in every subject. We all had our moments of breakdown at one point or another.
"I was stressed as I had taken both Drama and Design Technology (DT), which was taking a lot of effort and energy leaving little time to study. I kept making long-term plans and did not get complacent even after getting a good result at the pre-GCSEs."
Anna Nguyen-Minh, 16, agreed saying: "I was very ambitious wanting the highest marks possible. At the same time I was finding it hard to pay equal attention to all subjects as in Arts and DT there is a lot of technical work.
"We put pressure on ourselves to perform by being very self-critical and raising our own standards. Parents were always there to support us. We knew that the hard work was going to pay off."
Neha Lal, 18, who gave her AS-level this year and received As in all the four subjects she sat for, said: "Revising is very important to do well. Playing sports, watching a movie every Thursday, crying a lot and blaming it on everyone-else helps reduce stress levels. Teachers help by giving lots of practise papers and boosting our confidence."
What all students agree is that it is best to choose subjects according to ones likes and passions. They also felt that having an equal balance of academic and non-academic subjects helped. Zainab said: "I chose Drama because while there is a lot of hard work there is also a lot of team work, practise sessions and course work. I enjoyed every moment of this extra effort."
Anna, who chose both Art and DT, said: "Whatever the hard work there is a sense of accomplishment when the art exhibition is finally put up. It boosts confidence."
Keerthy Rajashekharan, 18, who got As in all the four subjects she took in AS level summed it up saying: "The journey starts in Year 11. As students we should be prepared to sacrifice certain things in these years. Effort is the most important. It is not easy to get As. One must never give up but try even harder.
"I used to have panic attacks but I read and played sports to unwind and calm down. Physical activity helped me a lot."
Good advice
Anna Nguyen-Minh, (Year 12)
If you start your work in the beginning it will not be an enormous rush in the end. When teachers put pressure on you, do not take it personally. They are only trying to help you.
Zainab Mahmood, (Year 12)
It is normal to freak out when you are preparing for GCSEs. Choose options according to what you enjoy and be sure that they are not all academic subjects.
Universities are also looking out for all-rounders.
Keerthy Rajasekharan (Year 13)
Choose subjects according to your passion so that you will enjoy it and the effort will flow naturally.
Neha Lal (Year 13)
GCSE is very important. It's a stepping stone to higher education. Have fun but be focussed and motivated and take studies at this stage seriously.
