IGCSE
There are no grades at Sholai and the students are roughly divided into groups in a system called Vertical Grouping. For example, the International General Certificate of Secondary Education group, which usually comprises students in the age group of 14-16, may also have an 18-year-old student, who is doing his/her A’ levels. A student who is doing his/her IGCSE may also be attending classes with a lower group to improve his/her English.
Sholai has two primary groups. The first group has students till 10-11 years. The second group comprises of students till the age of 12. Then, there is a middle group of students between 12-15 years. After this, there are two IGCSE groups. The first one has students being prepared to take the IGCSE exams (equivalent to the 10th standard in India). These students are roughly in the 14-16 age group. The second group has students preparing for the A’ levels. These students are usually between 17-18 years. All Sholai students fall into one of the above groups.
For the IGCSE exams, students are free to choose a combination of five of more subjects, solely on their own choice. Unlike the Indian system where subjects are grouped into Science 1, Science 2, Arts and Economics — where only a certain combination of the subjects in these groups can be taken — Cambridge offers individual subjects, and a student may choose to take up any combination of subjects. For example, a student may take up Physics, Chemistry, Information Technology, English Language, Business Studies and History.
After the IGCSE exams, students move on to the A’ levels (or General Certificate of Education Advanced Levels). At the A’ levels, students are given a choice of four subjects (with English being mandatory). After successfully completing the A’ levels, students may choose to pursue their education in any British or foreign university. The Indian government has recently recognised the Cambridge syllabus, and students who complete four A’ levels are eligible for admission to most good universities in India.
NIOS
Alternatively, Sholai also offers the National Institute of Open Schooling (New Delhi) syllabus for students who are not pursuing CIE. With NIOS, the school offers the Secondary (10th) and the Senior Secondary (12th) courses.
Sholai School does not believe in examinations, though teachers give tests to students at times, to check their level of learning. A student moves to a higher group based on his/her knowledge of a subject. “As an educator I’m not concerned with examinations. Education is all about allowing a human being to flower. Therefore, coercion, persuasion and pressure should never be a part of the process. Society has the requirement of examinations. Therefore, we prepare students for the international IGCSE and A’ level examinations,” Jenkins says