Common Entrance is well and truly underway. As I write this the boys
are sitting Chemistry on the second morning of exams. They all seem in
fairly good spirits after yesterday's papers so I hope that bodes
well.
Common Entrance is an excellent set of exams for most boys. There will
scarcely be another time when they are examined in such a wide range
of subjects and it brings their prep school academic life to a very
good conclusion. I know that they enjoy the focus that it gives them
and when they have finished their exams and hopefully done well, their
is a real sense of achievement.
There have been quite a few detractors of CE recently, most of whom
seem to be pushing for a dumbed down version. I cannot agree with
this. If we lower our expectations, we will lower the achievement of
most pupils. One only has to look at what has happened to public exams
in this country. Even the creators of the 'Prep School Baccalaureate'
state that it particularly suits the middle or lower ability pupils.
Is that really where we should be setting our sights?
