My ABRSM Special Visit Experience

08 February 2017

Relaxed

When thinking about music exams I am not sure that the first adjective that comes to mind is ‘relaxed’. I have heard so many stories of the fusty old church hall experience where the examiner sits at a desk miles away at the end of a cold hall, waiting for the quivering candidate who enters in abject fear and trepidation. My own experience was not too disimilar and I started my piano teaching career with the intention of trying to equip my pupils to cope with this scenario.

Relief

However, after a few years of sending pupils to various centres around Birmingham with varying degrees of success, I came upon the ABRSM Special Visit scheme. At the time I had five full evenings of teaching and the three hour requisite for examining time was not too much of an issue for me. The relief I felt was immense when I realised that my pupils would be able to play the piano they were used to in a familiar environment. I decided to bite the bullet and try it out.

Rewards

That first session was a success. The examiner was very pleasant and the pupils were completely supported in the time before, during and after the exam. If I remember correctly the weather was lovely that summer and students could wait in the garden before going in for the exam. I provided drinks for those waiting and chocolate bars for the candidates when they came out of the exam as a reward for their achievement. We were also able to debrief a bit before they went on their way. Such a different experience from sending pupils to some unknown venue and only hearing snippets of their experience if they chose to divulge anything in the next lesson! I saw personal rewards in the fact that the experience had not been negative for any of the pupils and the results reflected that.

Realisation

This positive experience changed the structure of my teaching year. I realised that having the examiner come to my house was definitely the way forward for my piano pupils and I have since made sure that I organise visits for as many of my pupils as possible. I aim to run at least two a year, sometimes three, so there is always a session that pupils can aim for. The advantage of planning your own date is huge and it is wonderful to know the date you are working towards so far in advance.

I have reduced my teaching hours since having children so now I team up with a couple of other teachers from Services For Education who work in the local primary school. We have a good system where I can accompany their instrumental pupils and between us we have the required number of examining hours to host a visit. This means that my piano pupils nearly always get to play the instrument they are familiar with. Pupils can come to the house in advance if they need to so they feel really comfortable with the environment and all these things make for a much more relaxed and positive experience. My own children are now at the stage where they are taking music exams and have done so in their own front room! A far cry from the nerve-wracking experience of walking down an unfamiliar corridor in the back of the local Baptist church into a room you only remember from the last time you were there, also feeling sick with anxiety!

Recommend

My last Special Visit took place only a week ago. I have been running them for over ten years now and still feel evangelistic about them. I love the opportunity to chat to the examiner over lunch, to speak to anxious parents while they wait for their children to come back after the exam, to encourage and motivate pupils before and after their exams. My attitude to exams has changed because of it and I think that this really is the best way to enable children to perform at their best in exam conditions. Of course nerves still play a part. Of course things still go wrong in the exam room and results may not be what were hoped for. But I feel that I have given my pupils the best chance I can of providing an environment that is helpful and supportive. I can’t recommend the Special Visit scheme highly enough!

Originally published at www.bakertunes.com on February 8, 2017.