It’s that time of the year again. For students preparing for the Samoa School Certificate (S.S.C Year 12) and Secondary School Leaving Certificate (S.S.L.C Year 13), it’s time to knuckle down with revisions.

But before the national exams though, there are final exams to deal with.

Which is what thousands of students around the country have been sitting during the past two weeks.

Among them are students at Alofi-o-Taoa. The last day of their final exams is Friday.

School Principal, Fepuleai Lene So’oalo, said the timing of the final examinations is fitting.

“We’ve completed the entire syllabus for all the subjects,” he told Samoa Observer.

“We have done revisions and reviewed all the subjects. So having final exams this week if the perfect timing for our students.

“This means after the finals, they will have two weeks to prepare for the final examinations.”

Fepuleai said having the final exams this week also gives them (teachers) the opportunity to assess the areas where the students need to work on in preparations for the national exams.

“We will find out from the results of these exams where they are in terms of studies and will be able to see to it that there will be an improvement before the national exams.”

In saying that, Fepuleai said the school will start their study camp next week for Year 13 students.

“This is an annual practice by the school where we host a study camp two weeks before the national exams.

“The aim for this study camp is to give students the opportunity to study full-time and get help from the teachers. We know they can get distracted by a lot of things like chores, televisions and other activities during the time they spend at home in these two weeks and so we thought it would be best for them to have a study camp.

“The goal really is to push and encourage them and give them the right amount of help and time for them to focus on their studies and nothing else.

“The study camp has been really helpful in the previous years and we continue to do it as it has a great effect on the results of the students.

“This year we tried and include our Year 12 students in the study camp, but some of the teachers did not support the idea because it will mean that we will have a bigger number of students to look after and attend to.

“But we really want to give and provide our students with an environment where they can stay focused and learn in the two weeks leading up to the national exams.”

Lastly, Fepuleai said exams of any sort are crucial.

“Some think lightly of the final exams because they think the national examinations are more important, but any exam is important.

“The results from the final exams will determine who will receive prizes at the end of the year for the seniors.”

There are more than 400 students enrolled at Alofi-o-Taoa College in the Itu-o-Tane district in Savai’i.

The national exams for Year 12 and Year 13 start on November 11.