Objects of Substance – External Exam Paper

1947 external exams with fountain pens and bottles of ink

I remember sitting for both Junior and Senior public examinations for every one of my subjects at the end of Grade 10 (IVth Form) and Grade 12 (VIth Form). My clearest memory of Junior was doing my Art exam on one of those tiny art desks in W1.4. I was more concerned about spilling the water than the quality of my art, which was a not-very-good street scene set in Regency England. I think I chose that because, at age 14, I loved reading Georgette Heyer historical romances and the long dresses meant I did not have to paint legs. ‘Senior’ evokes more dreaded memories, especially the six hours of maths. It was also much more critical than Junior because my results would directly impact my hopes for university. The prospect was daunting, and the timetable to accommodate every subject studied in the state seemed punishing and went on for weeks. I envied those students whose exams were over much earlier than mine — what I would have given for those extra holidays! I remember especially the six hours, in two three-hour papers on the same day, that was English. This was scheduled for the first day of exams in my Senior year. It covered all the work we had studied in Years 11 and 12 — paper one, a creative piece (600-700 words), comprehension passages and questions, an exercise in vocabulary or grammatical correction of sentences, an unseen poem and questions, and a transcription into phonetics. Paper two — identifying and discussing extracts from taught poems, an essay on poetry or the work of a particular poet, and essays on two Shakespearean plays ( Coriolanus and Hamlet ) and the Douglas Stewart radio play, The fire on the snow , Emily Bronte’s novel, Wuthering Heights , and a book from the General Reading List. I remember the cramped writing hand and fingers after that day. But I survived and went to university, like so many other Grammar girls before me, never dreaming I would have to think about Senior ever again. However, I opted for a career in education and started teaching at Girls Grammar in the final year full external Senior Exams were scheduled. Since then, teachers and students have endured different iterations of school-based assessment and the Core