A NICOSIA private school has designed a questionnaire that assesses what level of English language entrance exam paper candidates should sit.
The English School has long since had two entrance examinations: one for first year entry and another for second year entry. Normally, fluent Greek speakers sit the first year entry examinations as they are assessed on the Greek language and mathematics. Candidates for second year entry, on the other hand, sit examinations in English and mathematics.
According to the paper’s sources, rumours have recently arisen surrounding the English language paper assessment. Parents have claimed that for the first time the school is developing two different papers: one for native English speakers and another for non-native speakers.
But, this rumour is entirely false and misleading, according to the headmaster Robert Swan.
“There have been two different English papers for the second year examination for years,” he said. “The only new thing this year is that we have actually included a separate form with the exam application form asking parents questions designed to assess which paper candidates should be sitting.”
According to the form: “Two English papers are offered, one for candidates defined as native speakers of English. The School reserves the right to determine the paper for which each candidate will be entered. In order assist to the school in making this determination, please answer the following questions as accurately as possible.”
The questionnaire then goes on to ask the nationality, place of birth, first language spoken and principal language now spoken by the candidate’s father, mother and the candidate himself or herself. There is also a question looking at which language is generally spoken at home and which languages are sometimes spoken.
“In the past, the person in charge of collecting the forms would ask parents very general questions in order to determine which paper a candidate would be given. But we felt that this might not be as effective and so decided to try and devise a method that would best establish a candidate’s level of English,” he said, which could even be as broad as ‘did your child go to an English or Greek speaking elementary school?’
One reason there are two English language papers is because some students who do not pass in the first year opt to reapply in the second year and their level of English is not the same standard, for instance, as English speaking Junior School leavers.
“There is a 40 per cent core module in the English paper that is the same for all candidates. The remaining 60 per cent is the part that differs and assesses different aspects of the language,” Swan said.
Although he did not know specifics of the differences, because it was the school’s English department that handled the paper, he said the non-native paper was designed to ensure that the candidate was able to keep up with the school’s English based curriculum.
“Obviously a native English speaker will not have a problem with keeping up and we know that,” he said. “However, we must certify that all candidates can cope with our curriculum and the only way to do that is this.”
Places at the prestigious school are highly sought after, which is why there are so many applicants a year. That is another reason an objective selection process such as an examination is important.
“I believe that our entrance exams are a good way of telling who will be able to cope with the school’s curriculum and who will not,” he said. “With so many students hoping to get into the school and so few places available, we have to design a paper that is selective, and then offer places to the top candidates.”
This method of two English papers was not about giving some students an easier paper over others, he said. It was about assessing levels of English. If some candidates’ are already fluent in the language, then the native-English paper highlights the stronger students. The same goes for the non-native speakers paper, he said.
Asked whether he was aware that some parents had said they might lie on the form in order to ensure their child sat an easier English paper, he said: “I have heard something like that, but I hope no one actually goes through with it, because there is declaration at the end that says any misrepresentation may lead to the offer of a place at the school being withdrawn.”
Swan said it would be easy to tell if a parent had lied on the form once the child entered the school in September and his or her level of English would become quickly obvious.
The deadline for submitting the exam registration form was last Friday and the actual exam is on June 1.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
