Summer newsletter Anglia Examinations

In a slight variation on Gershwin’s song, here at the Anglia HQ in Chichester, it’s:

“Summertime, and the living is busy, SummerAnglia students are jumpin’ and the piles of markin’ are high!”  

July has always been the busiest month of the year here at Anglia HQ while we mark and process tens of thousands of scripts from the late summer sessions from several European countries including Cyprus, Bulgaria, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, and Romania.

Furthermore, we look back at a very successful year for Anglia Examinations, where the company grew 15,8% compared to 2014/15. An incredible result which we achieved through the efforts and loyalty of all our worldwide partners. We are looking forward to growing Anglia worldwide in 2016/17. 

Summer Anglia 2016

It’s the first year of our Summer Anglia junior summer school based here on the Chichester College campus, and we’re having a great time. Students from Argentina and Bulgaria and the UK have been mixing and making friends, learning English the Step-by-Step way and visiting Brighton, Thorpe Park, Portsmouth and London to say nothing of sports, quizzes, team-building activities and chill-out nights at the students’ union. Alice Osman has done a wonderful job directing the whole Summer School Programme. 

It’s not all over yet; we still have one group for one more week and then the summer session of exams with all the European and International students at the college, so there’s plenty to do. Holidays for us will be later in the year! The sun has shone on all our activities this year. We hope it shines on you, too, and wish you luck with everything you’re doing in your countries all over the world, whether you’re busy with your work or having a break.

The power of the Step-by-Step way of learning and testing.

Two teachers from Cyprus share an inspiring story about inclusivity and achievement. 

''Nikolas is a 12-year old boy with cerebral palsy due to premature birth and which has caused him spastic quadriplegia and deafness. Moreover, his oral speech is limited to 'Yes' and 'No' and to the understanding of sign language.

For the past two years I am his English teacher, and all I can say is that my experience with him has helped me to become more innovative, spontaneous, creative. Nikolas is a constant form of inspiration. Our lessons are filled with games, fun and laughter. He has a bright mind, a memory that few of his peers and even older can compete with, and an endless will to learn more.  During these two years we have managed to create our own ' English team' with Nikolas. His parents and sisters, his invigilator, and students from the same level as Nikolas are our companion, team players in our English games and much more.

Last year when we completed the Junior level, I was certain that Nikolas would be able to take the exam. When it came to the format that exam paper would have, we were lucky enough to have Anglia and more specifically George Mitletton by our side, who was willing to everything possible to cover our needs. This led to the creation of a different form of paper, with the aid of symbols as well as letters and with three or four options for each answer for Nikolas to choose the correct one.

Finally through this process we had Loukas being his invigilator-who although is not a teacher learnt how to communicate with Nikolas  and made him feel comfortable during the exam. In his own words: " It wasn't difficult to follow Nikolas indications for which answer he wanted to choose. He was very clear about them and he didn't confuse me at any time. As soon as, I was reading the question, I saw in his eyes that he had already known the answer, even before I gave him the multiple choices. It is a fact that when he puts his tongue out it is a definite NO.

This year things were actually even easier since Nikolas made so much progress. He was literally flying all over the exam. His ability to answer fast and clear got sharper and I was amazed by his progress. In some questions I could not catch up with him. We completed the exam in less than 45 minutes'.

We both agree that Nikolas 'is not a boy with special needs. He is the specialty we need in our lives.''

Maria Koromia - Loukas Michael

Happy holidays to everyone in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Anglia Team.