h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

... that 30 years ago this term was O-Level time. Gawd how I loved Exam time. (really, I really did like it. Perverse, eh?)

And the Sistabarista took another five-hour written exam today - maths this time. Two more, and then an oral exam. So far, she's holding up pretty well... even seems to be having fun.

My daughter's doing her GCSE's this summer.

25 years ago I was sitting my O'Level's

I took my first 2 'O' levels 30 years ago...

RF

I know what you mean about liking it. So did I - although that was partly because they meant good weather, short days and lonnnng holidays just around the corner. Two months seemed like an eternity at the start of every Summer holiday!

Don't tell me, RF, English and Maths? I did those two the year before the others too.

Yarreau - to the Sisterbarista pls. 5 hours of Maths is what the UN would call cruel and unusual punishment.

You've got me counting back now and it appears to be 23 years since I sat my first 'O' Grades (Scottish education!).

It my be an anomaly to folk who found this site, but I loved exams too! A couple of hours writing down the things you wanted to say in class but were scared that your classmates would laugh at you for being a swot and then a trip to the bakers for a self-congratulary cream bun!

no buns for me (we weren't allowed out of school) but ... I just liked the peace and quiet. And the way my brain works, exam conditions are best. I'm a good team player but deep down I prefer to do my own thing.

You see I'm the opposite in exams, if theres a question that requires you to think something through as opposed to just recalling info I'm no good.

And all the teachers that go "Imagine you're not at school" are obviously missing the point that you only do exams at school and its therefore rather hard to imagine your at home! And besides if I did that i might get sidetracked and never answer the paper! I've got exams in about a month.

you're so cute - I have done more exams since I left school than I did while I was there. And I didn't even go to Uni!

>> Don't tell me, RF, English and Maths? <<

Indeed.

The disadvantage of this "exam time" was that, apart from taking the exams, there wasn't one. The rest of the time we just had ordinary lessons. Even after we'd done the maths exam, our maths teacher started us immediately on "Additional Maths" (calculus etc.) for the following year's exam. I think the English teacher was a bit more relaxed (but aren't they all?)

RF

Oh yes, Add maths was started right away, and for English we just went on with Eng Lit for which the exam was at the usual time with all the others.

When we took the rest of our O-Levels we had regular lessons right up to the start of exams, then after that we had lessons in the subjects that we would take for A-level. Which meant for me 3 weeks of French which I didn't actually take (because they couldn't fit French & Russian together in my A-level timetable I had to take maths instead of French... not a good decision in retrospect)

Although I do remember we had some kind of Exeat days (boarders of course, the day-girls afaik just took days off as and when) when we went to London for the day, and definitely I had 2 trips to the pictures, once with some others for American Gigolo and once alone for The Life of Brian.

It's quite strange how it all comes back after all this time.

I took 9 O levels in 1970, Additional Maths in 1971 and three A levels and an S level (which in those days was higher than an A level, it stood for "Supplementary") in 1972.

So it's 40 years for me! I loved it, too. I suppose it's safe to say so now!

The smell of hot paper, tarpaulin on the floor of the gym so the teacher walking around didn't disturb us too much (and probably so the feet of the desks didn't dent the volleyball/badminton/basketball/5-a-side court).

The heat, the studiousness, the quiet, the smells .... everything everyone has said so far.

I can't for the life of me remember if we went back to lessons after O levels till the end of the school year, but after A levels we definitely didn't, but had fun activities organised for us (day trips, typing lessons, "an introduction to economics", army assault course are the ones I remember).

Nor can I remember at what point we had to decide which A levels we were going on to take. Perhaps we were all called to the Headmaster's Office during the July of 1970.

And the anticipation of being able to wear sixth form uniform and use the sixth form toilets and having a common room to go to instead of a wet, cold playground. Liberation!

oh yes! 6th form uniform! and the upper sixth common room - we were allowed to smoke in there.

Our A-level subjects were pretty much fixed after O-levels but there was (a little) scope to change when we got back after the exam results were in.

The only thing I remember between A-levels and leaving school (newly back from suspension ) was that we were all 18 by then and went down to give blood for the first time. But by then I hated school so much I probably just mooched around on the grass outside our common room and read books and sulked.