I opted for no exams this year. And here’s why…

Hey guys,

I hope that you’re all ok.

Today I want to share my feelings about having no exams and my reasons behind choosing this option.

When you get to Third Year (at least in Film and TV), you gain more freedom regarding how you wish to be assessed. I chose to submit more essays/assignments as a trade off for having no exams. For me, this felt (and still feels like) the right decision.

One of the reasons why I chose to submit more essays/assignments is the fact that I feel like you have more control over these pieces of work. To elaborate, you can ask your tutors as many questions as you like about essays/assignments, something that you can’t do with exams. Of course there are revision sessions, but the tutors can’t really afford to give much away. Also, once you begin the exam, you’re on your own. When writing an essay, you can email your tutor at any time.

Another reason for making this decision was the fact that my Cerebral Palsy means that I feel stress in a very physical way. After sitting the online exams last year, my knees became extremely swollen and sore. Even though I was granted extra time to complete my answers, I still found the process very stressful. This year, that is something that I wanted to avoid.

One thing that I do miss about exams is the sense of structure that they give the summer term. Obviously I have essays/assignments to complete, but somehow this doesn’t feel the same as attending revision sessions. I also miss the sense of comradery that exam season creates between you and your peers. You know, when you all come out of an exam and commiserate each other because of a horrible question?

I guess it can be said that I have a love-hate relationship with exams. If you’re ever faced with the decision over exams or no exams, you need to choose what you think will be best for you as an individual. I didn’t choose not to do exams because I perform poorly under pressure, but some people might. Don’t feel like you need to choose the option that your friends are choosing as ultimately you’ll be the one who is doing the assessment.

I hope that my ramblings about my decision will be useful to some of you. Do you have any exams this year? If so, how do you feel about them? Let me know in the comments below!