Less ghastly

Perhaps for all the right reasons.

The results for English this were about the same as usual even though I predicted a decline. We got a couple of 4s, but at least it wasn’t more. One of the laziest little buggers in my class got a 6, which though I should be pleased, is annoying. I’ve run into this sort of thing before, where some revolting child could be inspiring the dunces to aspire, but instead, behaves like a dunce.

With the A-level pupils, the disastrous HL~SL split of last year was reversed, thus providing some evidence that largely barring them from HL is beneficial (and besides, as we all know, they don’t need to do HL).

And thus, this year’s A2s may not do too badly since almost none of them are doing HL. How­ever, I still think we’re likely to see a few more 4s unless, on the basis of their dreadful IGCSE results, we can see shed the worst performers.

Curiously, I know next to nothing about this year’s IB1~AS classes. Normally, I hear names and get to know reputations long before I have any dealings with the children in question, but excluding one marginal case, that’s not the case this time. Does this bode well? Perhaps. Keep your fingers crossed.

One more thing. We’re losing teachers and not getting replacements. There’s apparently some policy limiting the number of students in international programmes in Chinese schools. In reality, this will mean larger classes, but still nothing like the numbers we used to have to deal with.