coursework ( and according to some commentators , all homework ) in secondary education , and that universities would have to assess only by exams rather than dissertations . It reminded me very much of the introduction of the pocket calculator into schools many years ago , when there was a common view that this would mean the end of the acquisition of mathematical skills in students , whereas in fact calculators have enabled students to access more complex mathematics in school than they ever had before .
Of course we must guard against academic dishonesty , as we always have , but perhaps more should be said about the potential benefits of AI . This last year at Sevenoaks , a Lower Sixth student ,
Siddhanth Lohia , has successfully developed AI-driven software for visually impaired chess players and has made the software free to download from the website of his non-profit organisation . An Upper Sixth student , Andrea Olsen , is involved in a project using AI technology to find new brain tumour therapy targets with a goal of fighting disease faster . And a Year 11 student , Simran Vara , has created an Alexa ‘ Skill for Good ’ that aims to help tackle stress and anxiety by providing people with a means to talk to someone when they feel they need support . Simran was one of three Kent teenagers named runners-up in the Alexa Young Innovator Challenge – Amazon ’ s UK-wide AI coding contest .
These successes , and all of the ‘ super-curricular ’ activities in which students have been engaged this year , run alongside the more regular , but still important successes of our students in the exam room . Our excellent headline statistics – 39.0 IB Diploma average , and 86.2 per cent grades 9-7 at ( I ) GCSE – are , as expected , back in line with our pre-pandemic results of 2019 , but are still a fantastic demonstration of the breadth of abilities and skills gained by our students inside and outside the classroom .
For many of our IB students , this was the first set of public exams they had encountered . Let ’ s hope this is the last time I have to write that sentence , and that we can look forward to new innovations in education and elsewhere , rather than backwards , from now on .
Chris Taylor , Deputy Head Academic