China's exams - the extreme A levels

as Britain's a-level students reach the end of their exam ordeal spare a thought for China's teenagers 9 million of whom have just sat the universal and universally dreaded galca University Entrance Test it's described as the world's toughest exam and can make the difference between a life lived in poverty and a brighter future as Channel 4 News first reported earlier this month the pressure on the students in an exam that lasts 9 hours over 2 days is immense our aser correspondent John Sparks reports on how they handled the biggest test of their lives she's lived here all her life a simple hamlet in rural China where people are poor and opportunities are scarce from her modest home however Jang Sha Sha dreamt of a brighter future two weeks ago she sat the gaow China's fearsome University entrance exam and the results have arrived by text message her future dependent on a three-digit score but the news isn't good her grades barely enough for a third tier College there was only one chance for me and I failed I feel like the sky is falling down on me my mom didn't say anything she's stunn too we can't believe it we found Shasha cramming for the exam earlier this month on her School's football pitch at 5:30 a.m. and she wasn't the only one these students just a few of the 9 million competing for a university place this year the pressure was intense and Miss Jang said she couldn't cope I told myself to relax during the test but then I forgot everything many of the questions I prepared for didn't come up I got too nervous on Chinese broadcasters were more interested in Tales of success this week one school in northern China turned out half a dozen gaw cow Champions their three-digit scores were flashed up for everyone to see last year a student called Yang Yuen was immortalized with a statue after posting an impressive grade the school even threw a parade not everyone reveres the gaw cow however earlier this month our team met Lyn sha Chen a bit of a rebel he wasn't putting in 20 hours per day study sessions the exam is all about rote learning he says it's not a test of intelligence their view of learning is too narrow learning what is learning studying textbooks is only one way to do it after the exam our team went to shaan's home to find out how he'd done they began to film but his parents soon asked the crew to leave they said his results weren't good enough for many the gaow is regarded as a Gateway out of poverty but those with money can avoid it by attending foreign universities but that's not an option for the Jang family Shasha says her dream has died and her mother blames herself sometimes she asked me for help with her school workor but I had to tell her I never went to school I have no ability I am totally useless I wasn't any help at all Shasha says she's finished with studying her education is over it's time to get a job she adds and help out her family

Channel: Channel 4 News

Views: 159,044

Keywords: china, exams, channel 4 news, video, a levels

Id: LF8G6-E24Ew

Length: 3min 56sec (236 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 28 2013