UAE school principals expect GCSE and A-level exams to be cancelled again this year after the UK entered its third national lockdown on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the measure, which will last into mid-February, includes a return to remote learning for primary schools, secondary schools and colleges. He also said exams would need to be reconsidered.
“We recognise that this will mean it is not possible or fair for all exams to go ahead this summer as normal. The education secretary will work with Ofqual to put in place alternative arrangements,” Mr Johnson said.
Prior to the announcement, headteachers in the UK said final exams were in peril because schools could not reopen.
A change or cancellation of the tests, sat at ages 16 and 18 respectively, would have repercussions across the globe, because British-curriculum schools follow the UK line.
It means thousands of pupils in the Emirates could face school-assessed grades for a second year.
Principals here have now urged UK authorities to make a quick decision to prevent a repeat of last year’s uncertainty.
It is not possible or fair for all exams to go ahead this summer as normal
Britain UK is battling a lethal coronavirus spike after a new variant of the virus was detected in the country.
School principals in the UAE said they needed clarity on how pupils would be assessed if exams were cancelled.
"The exams will not be the same and boards will come up with an alternative arrangement," said Ms Fiona Cottam, principal of Hartland International School in Dubai.
"We don't know if they will review the content or ask for predicted grades.
“Last year they began taking these decisions in April, and it’s only January.
“This year, they have more time to organise, plan, and make alternative provisions.”
Ms Cottam said pupils in some British schools in the UAE, including Hartland International School in Dubai, will sit two mock exams in case exams are cancelled in 2021.
She said she hoped authorities would consult teachers and find a better way forward than they did last year if exams were to be cancelled.
Brendon Fulton, principal at Dubai British School Jumeirah Park, said he was highly sceptical that GCSE and A-level exams would go ahead in the UAE.
“There is a strong possibility that the [English] government will follow the lead of the Scottish and Welsh exam boards by cancelling the exams and relying on school-assessed grades as they did last year.
“The early announcement by the Scottish and Welsh exam boards would have been welcome by schools.
“British schools, however, are left in the same position as last year, with late information on decisions that make planning quite difficult.”
There are 302,000 pupils at the UAE’s British-curriculum schools, according to ISC Research, a provider of educational data. This means thousands of pupils will be affected.
At the Dubai British School group, 120 pupils are set to sit GCSEs while 60 are waiting to sit their A-levels.
Schools had already prepared for the possibility that exams would be cancelled by conducting rigorous internal assessments and pre-empting course work requirements across all subjects.
Mr Fulton said because of the chaos caused by coronavirus – with many in the UK unable to access education – an early decision on cancelling exams would be better.
“I don’t believe that the formal exam process can offer a level playing field for all students,” Mr Fulton said.
“The right thing to do would be to make an early announcement on the cancellation of exams and allow the exam boards to support schools in preparing school-assessed grades.”
In Scotland in October and Wales in November cancelled exams for 2021 and replaced them with assessment.
Mark Leppard, headmaster at British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi, wrote to UK education secretary, Gavin Williamson regarding the issue, prior to the announcement on Monday.
All pupils should have the equal opportunity for success. Some pupils have had distance learning while others had in-person classes in the UK,” said Mr Leppard. “If you are not able to access teachers it cannot be an equal footing.”
He said he received a reply stating the government was looking into the matter.
Mr Leppard said the vaccines may help things return to normality but getting it everyone might take time.
He hoped things would be more organised than last year when it came to A-levels as pupils depended on the grades for university spots.
“My advice to pupils is to focus on the here and now. Do the best with what is in front of you so the school will have rich data showing your performance.”
Shanessa Fernandes, a Year 13 pupil at Gems Metropole School in Dubai, said she was aware exams could be cancelled any day but had learnt to cope.
“We understand how it works and we have evidence so exam being cancelled is not necessarily a scary thing,” said the Indian pupil, 17.
“I would not worry about university spots as I have good grades."
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Pupils in Abu Dhabi are learning the importance of being active, eating well and leading a healthy lifestyle now and throughout adulthood, thanks to a newly launched programme 'Healthy Lifestyle'.
As part of the Healthy Lifestyle programme, specially trained coaches from City Football Schools, along with Healthpoint physicians have visited schools throughout Abu Dhabi to give fun and interactive lessons on working out regularly, making the right food choices, getting enough sleep and staying hydrated, just like their favourite footballers.
Organised by Manchester City FC and Healthpoint, Manchester City FC’s regional healthcare partner and part of Mubadala’s healthcare network, the ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ programme will visit 15 schools, meeting around 1,000 youngsters over the next five months.
Designed to give pupils all the information they need to improve their diet and fitness habits at home, at school and as they grow up, coaches from City Football Schools will work alongside teachers to lead the youngsters through a series of fun, creative and educational classes as well as activities, including playing football and other games.
Dr Mai Ahmed Al Jaber, head of public health at Healthpoint, said: “The programme has different aspects - diet, exercise, sleep and mental well-being. By having a focus on each of those and delivering information in a way that children can absorb easily it can help to address childhood obesity."
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
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• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
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The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
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WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
