Lyna Mohamad
Although studying during the pandemic was challenging as there was limited interaction between students and teachers, Ampuan Mohd Syahmi bin Ampuan Haji Mahmud said it did not deter his spirit to score with flying colours by revising his notes and completing past year papers.
The Menglait Secondary School student who was among the Year 11 student feted at an Excellent Students Award ceremony yesterday, said he studied and prepared for the exams six months prior, helping him achieve 7 ‘O’s.
Meanwhile, Manson Chan Yuan Ji who scored A+ on his subjects – English, Physics and Biology, shared his joy of being one of the top scorer and advised fellow students to prepare early before the exam.
“Consistency is the key to good grades. Also take a break from time to time to prevent burnouts. Most importantly, have fun!” he added.
Muhammad Hafizuddin bin Bahrin shared that the most challenging part of his studies was revising for eight subjects in his ‘O’ level. He said, being home and switching to online learning made him lose focus while he easily got distracted from his surroundings.
For Khairunnisa Adlynna Dayana binti Dr Mohammad Khairul, practising past year papers was what helped her. She said she focussed on one subject a day, on her weak subjects while continued to revise.
Scoring A+ in English, Biology and Islamic Religious Knowledge, she found keeping a consistent study schedule was the most challenging part especially during the pandemic as it can affect mental health.
Describing her time at school, she said, “It was a rollercoaster ride. Our days were filled with laughter and amazing memories, but also breakdowns. My next goal is getting three A’s in A level as I wish to continue my studies at UTB.”
School Principal Haji Huzaimi bin Moksin highlighted that last year 94 students scored at least 5 ‘O’s in their examinations marking an increase of 13.1 per cent from the scool’s target as well as a 26.3 per cent rise from the same examinations in 2020.
Haji Huzaimi also highlighted the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning resulting in online learning for several months and the replacement of public examinations with the School Assessed Grades (SAG).
He pointed out that this method needs the collection of proof of points taken from internal test and examinations that students had sat for.
The principal also extended gratitude to Year 11 students involved in the preparations of documents needed for the SAG as well as parents and guardians for their support and motivation.
Two top students – Dayangku Siti Ajila Nasriah binti Pengiran Haji Mohd Said and Nurul Natasha binti Junaidi – also received awards at the ceremony.
The ceremony also saw a speech by student representative, Rabi’atul A’in binti Aji @ Puteri followed by a video presentation on the students’ learning journey from 2017 to 2021. A Doa Selamat led by Mohammad Azri bin Haji Ahmad, concluded the event.
The award ceremony was divided into two sessions in view of the school’s hall capacity.
Yesterday’s session saw 58 students receiving awards, while the rest will be feted on July 7.
