Supporting Students During National Exams For The Best Results

“I am so excited and cannot wait to sit for my Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE). I have been reading hard and I hope to get 11 aggregates.”

-SPECIOZA, P7 KAMULI PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENT

In Uganda, there are seven primary school years, from P.1 to P.7. At the end of P.7, students are required to sit for their first major national exams called the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE). The PLE tests students on four main subjects – English language, mathematics, science and social studies. Results ultimately determine whether or not the student can advance to Secondary School.

On November 4^th and 5^th, Children of Uganda’s P7 candidate students sat for their PLEs. In this video, the students talk about how far they have come in life and how they are feeling about their upcoming exams:

The best possible score one can achieve on the PLE is a total of 4 aggregates (which means 1 point – a distinction – in each subject), while the worst is a total of 36 (9 points for each subject, which results in a fail).  Students with between 4 and 12 points pass with a first grade or Division One.  

Children of Uganda sponsored students who pass their PLE typically advance to secondary school.  This has two stages; the first 4 years (S1 to S4) constitute O-level.  At the end of S4, students take the second major national exams known as the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE). Earlier in October, our S4 candidates sat for their UCEs to determine whether they will qualify for advanced secondary school (S5 and S6) or embark on a vocational track. 

In total, we had 12 P7 candidates at Kamuli Primary School, 15 P7 candidates at Sabina Primary Boarding School, 4 S.4 candidates at St. Cyprian High School and 4 S.4 candidates at St. Stephens SS Bajja complete their exams.

While our students were preparing for their exams through the months of October and November, Children of Uganda staff made frequent visits to partner schools to check on the welfare of the students – academically, health wise and psychologically.  Staff members attended all family visitation days (which you can see in the slideshow below), as well as made separate visits as needed.

This can be a stressful and overwhelming time for the children, so we do our best to support and encourage them through it all.

We send all of our students love and best wishes as they await their final exam results!

If you sponsor a child and have questions about their school placement for next year, please contact us at (800) 531-9612 or click CONNECT to e-mail us.