One Day before the Scholarship Examination

I am typing this a day before the Scholarship Examination that I have to give, on Sunday. It spoils one of the only two holidays for me. And on top of that, there are further exams, the IV Unit Test — lasting from Monday to Friday! Yes, a really great week ahead. 

Study, study, study... and with "Complete your books," that's all the vocabulary the teachers seem to have these days. Our Scholarship teacher (also happening to be Class Teacher for us) says, "It's not my exam yet I’m worrying about y'all." And well, that's perfectly true. We haven't learned Mathematics (one of the three subjects; Language and Intelligence Test are the other two) fully yet. When I say "we," I mean it, for it's not only me, it's everyone else. It's not our fault. The books were given in December when they should have been given in July: we kept asking Miss about it but she said continually that the books weren't published yet, and we were thinking that there would be no scholarship exam for us, that are how the things were going. And then out of the blue we received the books in December and were asked (I should say "ordered") to complete three whole books in two months: you could have knocked me over with a feather!! Things didn't really get serious until late January, and it was too late then. Miss said "do most things at your own; I can explain only a few," — perfectly correct, but how can we do sums which we're never taught how to do??

Still, we did what we could. We completed the Language book—so easy it was, and what fun to do! Intelligence wasn't bad either; in the early days I loved it. But Maths. No, no. I always shudder at this type of Maths. How can I solve the sum when I don’t know how to? Miss did explain some sums, but oh, such a lot remained (and still remains). And when she did really get serious, it was too late as I said.

It's not all bad; the multiple-choice format means that I can guess right sometimes. That would be really good, if I'm lucky enough. There was some talk about negative marks — for goodness' sake, we can't have that! No, not at all. Totally unfair. I repeat: it's totally unfair. Bah!

Tomorrow there is the Scholarship exam. God knows how I'll do. But I do hope that.....

That....

That I get satisfactory marks, by the grace of God, and the great good luck.

The exam is St. Louis High School (oh no, it's a girl's school — sorry!), a nice school, my parents said, having seen it from the outside. We have to reach there by 9:30am: the first paper—Language; hurrah!—will start at 10 o’clock and last for an hour. Then from 11am to 12pm there is the first break. From 12 to 1 we have the second paper—Intelligence Test. Then another break of an hour. Then the last paper, from 2 to 3. We go home by 4 o’clock. Six hours!! *Gulp.*

And then there is the History Civics and Geography exam on Monday. Thank God it's an easy one—I don't know what I would be able to do if it had been Marathi and Science (which is the second paper.) Hope that goes all right!

A really busy week ahead. Ah, but these are just some of those days. They'll soon pass, I always say to myself, whenever they come. And they do, needless to say.

Scholarship Exam at St. Louis School, here I come!—relishing, as always, a good challenge, although, as always, grumbling outwardly. ; -)



[Originally posted by Philip Mannering on 9:16pm, 14th Feb 2009.]