It all started on September 2017 when I joined Kennedy School. It was a whole new experience for me because I was switching school systems and I did not know at all what to expect. I was blank, a newbie for that matter. Within no time, I became well acquainted with the school and it felt like home. The teachers and students all made me feel welcome.
I will describe my IGCSE experience with one word- wholesome. It has been quite a learning curve, to be honest. It has been full of emotions, from bitter-sweet moments to rib-breaking laughter, all of these would not fit to satisfy my experience.
It has been quite the journey from year 7 to now (year 11). I have definitely grown through these past few years in major aspects of life. I reckon that most of this growth was influenced by the school. When I joined Kennedy school (back in year 7), I was not as ambitious as I am now, that is for sure, now I am full of ambitions that seem unrealistic for one person to achieve. I would like to give specific recognition and sort of a shout-out to the mentorship sessions we got at school because they obviously did us good.
I cannot seem to explain a typical school day at Kennedy because at Kennedy, we do things differently, but one thing is for sure, I never seemed to get bored of going to school. Sometimes though, I would take it for granted, until the pandemic happened. It really proved how important physical classes are and also how technology can be beneficial. To add on, during the pandemic we got new classmates and this was such a highlight.
During the pandemic, we got an opportunity to do our first international exams (checkpoints). I recall preparing really hard for the exams and commuting from home to school during the holidays. We did the exams and passed and continued to prepare for our IGCSEs. Finally, physical classes resumed and learning continued. In no time, we were writing our examinations. Again, with these we prepared twice as hard, going for tuition and such. It was hectic commuting from home to our exam centre but we still managed to make it work.
The exam period ended as fast as it came and we were preparing for graduation and prom. Our graduation went well and it felt good to finally be sitting on the audience’s side at a school event - very entertaining. We then had prom and the highlight of the day had to be the limousine that was there for us. It was an epic day. I do not think I would ever have experienced prom if I had not switched systems or better yet, came to Kennedy.
For me, secondary school has been a time for us to just GROW. A time for us to make mistakes and learn from them, get into each other’s nerves and at the end of the day have a completely normal conversation, a time for us to forgive and gain patience for one another, appreciate the seemingly ‘boring’ moments in class because one day they will become memories, a time for us to be our best, raw and authentic selves because when again will we be able to do this without judgment?...
As I write this, I still cannot believe it has been five years and that we are done with IGCSE’s going to our A-levels, but I guess it is true that time moves fast when you are having fun, and honestly, it has been fun. I have to say, it has been an incredibly interesting 5 years, no doubt.
For now, here’s to the IGCSE class of 2022…
At Kennedy, we do things differently
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