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English Notes → First year at Harrow
by Sir Winston S.Churchill
1. The writer says that the examiners ask questions which students cannot answer & not those which they can answer. Is the complaint just?
Examinations are a test of the abilities of students. Examiners set question papers in such a way as to test the understanding of students about their respective subjects. They should keep in mind the mental level of students while setting the papers. They should not set out of course questions. The question papers should be balanced so that both the average and bright students can answer.
2. What sort of questions are asked by your examiners?
Our examiners ask different type of questions. These questions are conceptual and creative. A question paper generally comprises three sections namely A,B, and C. In these sections, objective, short and long questions are set to test the understanding of students about their syllabus. Sometimes they repeat the same questions.
3. Why did Churchill not do well in examinations?
Churchill disliked exams. He was interested in History, Poetry & Essay writing. But, his examiners did not value these subjects. They liked to ask questions from Latin, Greek & Mathematics. But, Churchill was not interested in these subjects. As a result, he could not show satisfactory performance in exams and failed.
4. How did he do his Latin paper?
Churchill had to appear for entry test for admission to Harrow school. He was not interested in Latin. He could not show satisfactory performance in this paper. He just wrote his name at the top of the paper and also wrote question number and put a bracket round it. He remained sitting for two hours and could not answer even a single question. But, the headmaster saw through his ability and gave him admission.