Namaste

My name is Rishit Patidar, currently doing my AS Levels as a 11th grader in CP Goenka

International School. I was a Kalyaniite from 2017 all the way till March of this year, spending 7
years of my education in this school. It was after grade 10th when I decided to jump the ship
and join a new school like the rest of my peers. However, while a lot have chosen to switch to
dummy schools, I have decided to switch my board entirely. The school I currently go to follows
CAIE or Cambridge Assessment International Education, it’s essentially the British board of
education. This school has served me well, but I’d want to challenge myself even harder and
also because I wanted to go abroad in the future, this board felt the most fitting for me.

The subjects I have chosen were mostly commerce related which were business studies,
economics, accounting and IT with English as a mandatory subject. Although it has been 1 and
a half months since I have joined here, there have been many cultural hiccups as one can
describe which has shocked me either for the best or the worse. The textbooks were shiny and
bulkier, the syllabus was talking about modern events, calculators were explicitly allowed for use
in class among many others. However, behind these differences which you see on the exterior,
there are differences that others notice on the interior. I am still not fully coming to terms with
this board.

The reason why I am writing this is because I want to give you guys a proper look into this
board, explaining why you should not and should be joining this board.

You should not join this board because:-

● There is less emphasis on extra-curriculars - I do not know if this is true for other CAIE
schools, but in my school people in 11th & 12th cannot partake in any sporting related
activities at all. If you all are used to going down every substitution period, forget about
joining this board because you are expected to give it all towards solving worksheets as
well as past papers, completing assignments, making notes and solving 8 and 12 mark
essays and problems. It will hurt if your mind is oriented towards the things beyond the
books, it is no easy path for such people
● It is hard to get good marks - When our coordinator came to our class to talk about how
we should be doing during the 2024-25 academic year, one sentence really struck
through my mind sharply, “Our main motive first of all is to ensure we do not get a E
(lowest grade in CAIE board).” Most students do not get the A grade which is the highest
in this board. On the flip side, there have been many people in my school whose papers
have returned ungraded, which is worse than the E grade. It does get a bit demoralizing
seeing your teachers go on and on about how this board is strict with high thresholds to
cross for marks as well as some of the strictest checking in the world. If that does not
seem like your cup of tea, this should not be your board of choice.
● Workload pressure - This ties into my 2nd point. There are tons of projects you need to
clear up as well as a lot of homework you are given with strict deadlines. You are
expected to write essays for 8-12 mark questions in exam papers. The way this board is
 set up, both 11th and 12th have equal weightage meaning that the notion that 11th is for
chilling gets destroyed immediately. This personally had affected me a lot since I wanted
to pursue a lot of extracurricular activities this year rather than do academic work.

You should join this board because:-

● Promotes critical thinking :- Unlike the rattafication of students seen in CBSE, AS Levels
focus on developing critical thinking skills, there is a reason why you have to write long
essays and a given syllabus from the current age. You'll be encouraged to analyze
information, evaluate arguments, and form your own conclusions. This not only prepares
you for university-level work but also equips you with valuable lifelong skills. CBSE is
improving at this front, but when it comes to critical thinking as a skill, this board of
education is the king of this.
● Globally accepted :- A Levels are a globally recognized qualification system. Earning
good grades in A Levels can give you a significant edge when applying to universities
abroad, particularly in the UK, Commonwealth nations like Canada, Australia, New
Zealand among others or just foreign nations in general where Indians are emigrating to
in massive numbers. Foreign universities often view A Levels as a benchmark for a
student's ability to handle rigorous academic coursework. CBSE too is now getting
accepted across many foreign universities across the globe, but A Levels have a
significant leverage across many foreign universities and colleges.
● Increased Subject Focus:- Unlike some boards that require a broad range of subjects,
AS Levels allow you to specialize in 3-4 subjects of your choice. This deep dive allows
for a more thorough understanding and mastery of the chosen subjects.

Ultimately, you are human after all. You can keep these pointers in mind or just ignore them. But
by chance if anyone wants to join this board, you would have to weigh in these factors before
joining in. Joining this board was not like sleeping on a bed full of roses. Also if you are not sure
about what to do, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Even I too am in this dilemma with me not
being sure what to do, it is a normal feeling. If anybody from 11th grade or even from 12th grade
is reading this, I highly recommend noting down your purpose in this life right now as this is the
right time to be doing so. Please go and meet with any of your career counselors in this school if
you are not sure what your purpose should be in life. I would like to end with this quote from a
certain poem that we all have studied in 9th grade, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I
took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Maybe the road less
traveled by can make the best or the worst difference for your life. As for me, I am still not sure
what lay in my path, but what I can say is that the roads to my purpose are still being built.

Namaste once again and thank you if you have read this far.