Students In China Turn Over New Leaf And Sit School Exam In The Woods

If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise. If you go down to the woods today, then make sure you have revised.

Students at a school in China have quite literally turned over a new leaf by sitting one of their exams outdoors.

About 800 pupils at the Fengqiu First Middle School in Xinxiang City, in China’s Henan Province, took to the woods for a test.

The students were asked to take their tables and chairs from the classrooms to a clearing for their final exam of the year, setting up camp in a space of 3,000-square metre woodland near their campus.

The school’s headmaster, Jia Gongjie, made the decision because the original indoor exam hall was deemed too hot and stressful for the pupils, who are encouraged to use the nearby woods for walking during study breaks.

He said: “The natural surroundings were ideal for the students to take their exams as I felt the youngsters would feel less pressure there.”

Gongjie also claimed that pupils were less likely to cheat during an outdoor exam, as it’s easier for supervisors to keep an eye on them.

Outdoor exams are becoming popular in China – last year, more than 1,000 students at a school in Shanxi Province were relocated to a running track for a test, as supervisors kept an eye on them with binoculars.