In January of 2020, news of a deadly virus rocked the world and led to a series of devastating consequences.

Students were one of the many groups affected by the pandemic.

Many faced uncertainty in the following few months over whether their exams would go ahead.

Finally, exam boards announced plans to replace A level, AS level and GCSE examinations with calculated grades.

Schools awarded grades based on in-class assessments, coursework and mock exam results.

And now this year, too, there is uncertainty over whether exams will go ahead in the island.

One of those affected last year was Izzy Scarffe, now in year 12 at Ballakermeen High School.

She said: ’It was really stressful because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and I thought my exam results would help me decide. Since our exams didn’t go ahead, I still have no idea.’

Izzy said the cancellation of her exams last year affected her A-level choices.

She explained: ’I was originally going to choose completely different options to what I have now chosen, but I didn’t receive the grades I needed in order to succeed in those particular subjects at A level.

’I definitely would have preferred to sit my GCSEs.’

She added: ’I’m worried that employers will look at my CV, see that I’m from the class of 2020 and think that I was just given those grades. I think this will affect how they perceive me.’

On the other hand, Paulina Kurzydlowska, another Year 12 student from Ballakermeen High School, said she was ’thrilled’ with her results.

She said: ’I was predicted As and A*s so that was what I got in the end. I knew I would get into Sixth Form with these grades and I didn’t really want to sit examinations in subjects I didn’t really like.’

The 2020 lockdown allowed Paulina to experiment with her artistic skills and she found her true passion in the subject areas of art and media.

Another Year 12 student from Ballakermeen, Aimee Picken, was ’happy at the time’ but now believes that, had she been given the opportunity to sit her GCSE exams, she would have ’altered’ her A level choices.

And year 12 student, Oliver Hunter, said: ’I didn’t like the situation last year because I was going to use my GCSE results to determine which A levels to choose.’

Having just come to terms with last year’s events and having settled back into their studies this term, students were dealt a second, and possibly more devastating blow.

A second lockdown was announced, shutting schools for a period of at least three weeks.

All English exam boards cancelled their 2021 examinations for GCSE, AS and A level.

Cambridge International exams taken by many island students may yet go ahead.

Speaking about the new lockdown, Aimee said it ’very sudden, but at least the school is prepared’. She added: ’Everything can be put online and they know if we are online as they check our attendance. School hasn’t really changed a lot for me.’

Izzy added: ’It is very much needed but I think it’ll have an effect on everyone’s mental health as many people expected the Isle of Man to be okay and were maybe not expecting another lockdown.

’It will be especially hard for teachers as they have been thrust into this situation but they are trying the best they can.

’I don’t think it will have too much of an effect on our year but, for other years, it may have a bigger impact.’

Paulina said: ’I’m very happy about this lockdown because now I have the freedom to spread out my studies from morning to evening if I want. The negative is that it may impact my mental health really quickly as I don’t get to see my friends or teachers. I just think it’s easier to learn in a classroom than online.’

Aimee said she thinks this lockdown will affect her mock exams this year: ’I think they’ll just push our mock exams back until we’re in school again, but at least we now have time to revise and prepare for them.’

However, in terms of the 2021 GCSE, AS and A level examinations, Aimee believes that, as all English exam boards have now cancelled their examinations, Cambridge will soon follow suit.

On the other hand, Oliver doesn’t believe they will be cancelled as ’Cambridge is an international exam board so has to consider the current state of more countries.’

Izzy said she doesn’t think it’s fair how Manx students may have to sit their Cambridge exams this year, but UK students doing the same subjects may not if they use different exam boards.

’It puts us at a disadvantage as we will have to sit the actual exam, compared to UK students who will receive Teacher Assessed Grades.’

Richard Karran, director of Sixth Form at Ballakermeen High School, said: ’Well, it certainly came as a shock to us in school but, luckily, we had been training and preparing for a "worst case scenario" of a second lockdown so we all felt quite calm about implementing our plans.

’The students were all in a much better position this time around too, with a very good working knowledge of Google Classroom and much more clarity on passwords etc.’

He added: ’During Lockdown 1, I was very concerned about the impact this break would have on learning. ’However, when we returned in June, our students were possibly in the best place that a Year 12 had ever been.

’They had worked so hard over the lockdown and they had adjusted much more proficiently to independent study.

’As a result, they have gone on to be the hardest working and most independent Year 13 that I have seen.’

He said the loss of mock exams was a ’bit of a blow’ because the school had secured a full ’study leave’ for the students to take these exams. ’However, when they do come back to take their mocks, they will have had more teaching and more marked work to revise from so this will help them,’ he said.

Last year saw much higher grades in A and AS levels as a result of ’teacher assessed grades’, Mr Karran said, adding there will likely be a much more stringent form of moderation this year.

He said: ’It could prove to be a disadvantage to our students if they have to take exams at AS or A level whilst the rest of the UK are using "teacher assessed grades" (TAGs) in these subjects.

’Clearly, with the inflation of grades we saw last year under TAGs, it would put our students at a natural disadvantage, particularly those on the D/C/B borderlines.

’Going ahead with Cambridge exams for Year 13 could be a particular problem with university admissions because our students may find themselves losing out to students who never had to sit an exam.

’I really don’t want to see this happen.’