ICSE examinees take critical thinking questions in their stride on first day
Times of India | 19 February 2025
Kolkata: The first board examination of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) started on Tuesday with a special assembly in many schools to focus on the paper. ICSE kicked off on Tuesday with English Paper 1. It will continue till March 27.
As many as 44,044 candidates from 235 schools are appearing in the ICSE exams this year. Students were a little worried about the critical thinking questions, which require skills of application. CISCE gave 10% weightage to such questions last year and it has been increased to around 25% this year. However, the first day's paper was not very difficult, said principals as well as the examinees.
Rishi Aurobindo Memorial Academy principal Bobby Baxter said: "The paper was good. The comprehension passage was easy. A few critical thinking questions worth 2 to 3 marks were asked in the question-answer section of the comprehension." St Augustine's Day School, Shyamnagar principal Rodney Borneo said: "Our children were very happy after taking the first day's examination. We gave them a lot of practice for the analysis-based questions, and we are happy that they tackled those questions very well. There is no worry about attempting such questions if a candidate practised enough."
TOI visited some centres in the city and interacted with the students, who stated that they were a bit tense until they received the question papers, as it was their first board exam. However, the first day's paper went so well that it boosted their confidence for the upcoming exams.
South City International ICSE examinee Suhana Islam said: "It was very scary for me since it was my first board exam. Last night, I couldn't get much sleep. I was excited, nervous, and stressed about it, but at the same time, I was thinking that I could do well as I was prepared. Our school helped us by giving enough practice."
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