HOPAC students work very, very hard. The secondary school uses a curriculum called IGCSE, which comes from Britain. It is much more intense than any curriculum I have seen. For example, in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade, all students take Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. All three subjects all three years. Basically, by the time our students have finished 10th grade, they’ve completed an American high school education (with maybe the exception of a government class or another English class). The classes they take in 11th and 12th grade are equivalent of American AP classes–college level. Whenever we have students staying with us and I see the homework they are doing, I am amazed.
At the end of 10th, 11th, and 12th grade, the students take IGCSE exams. The 10th graders take these exams over the course of an entire month. Almost 25 exams total–each an hour or two long–2 or 3 exams for each subject. It’s a big deal. They work really hard and get really nervous. But they always do great. Every year, the 10th grade scores improve. Above is the picture of last year’s 10th grade class with their IGCSE results. I taught that class in 5th and 6th grade…so I was especially proud of them!
