Saturday, November 3, The Lion of Judah Academy will have a wonderful day celebrating the graduation of this year’s Form Four class.
The campus will be filled to overflowing with students, family and friends, to honor the approximately 80 Form Four students who mark the completion of their Form Four studies at the school. These are always day-long events, starting about 10:00 a.m. with music and singing, the procession of the graduates, highlighted by special presentations, speeches, more music and singing and, of course, the presentation of diplomas, awards and certificates. That takes a few hours!
After the formal ceremonies there will be a huge celebration feast – attended by literally hundreds of guests – followed by other informal celebrations into the evening! It’s quite a day!
After all of that, this coming Monday, November 5 – just two days later – these same Form Four graduates will begin their national examinations. It may seem odd to those of us in the U.S. that the exams are taken AFTER their graduation, but that’s simply because our system works somewhat differently. The graduation celebrates the successful completion of their studies at Lion of Judah Academy (or whatever school they have attended). The national examinations test their preparedness for whatever comes next – further studies, employment, and so forth.
Many of our Form Four graduates will continue on to Form Five – some at Lion of Judah Academy, some at other schools, depending upon their personal goals and qualifications. But only those students who are interested in moving on to university level study will go on to form five and six, because those grade levels are completely designed for university preparation. Students not interested in pursuing university level study will stop at form four and, again depending upon their personal goals and qualifications, move to specialized training at a vocational or trade school, enter the work force, or something else.
However, no matter their personal goals – university study or a different path – their form four national exam results are likely to be an important factor used to determine how well suited and qualified they are for that chosen path.
So Saturday’s celebration will be joyful…and the exams which begin Monday (and last several days) will be very important.
Please pray…
- for the preparations for the graduation, and the celebration itself
- for the students as they prepare for and take their national exams beginning Monday
