Straight A students: Insufferable overachievers? Not quite

Contemporary folk wisdom would have it that, if you want to be an academic star, you’re going to have to sacrifice at least one social skill or glamorous attribute to the gods. Apparently, scoring high grades is only allowed if you’re crap at sports, clueless at fashion and way behind the curve on pop culture matters.

Well, get ready to jettison that belief as a misconception. After taking the time to speak to a clutch of fresh Straight ‘A’ students, we found them to be both an eclectic and eminently lovable bunch.

For 18-year-olds Sarah Suleiman, James Scicluna, Elaine Camilleri and 24-year-old Gabriel Ellul, being over-achievers was both a dream, and to a certain extent, a requirement to enter the prestigious medicine course ultimately to become doctors.

“The University course has strict entry requirements, and given that I’ve wanted to become a doctor for as long as I can remember, working hard to get those marks was an almost natural path,” Scicluna said.

Suleiman admits to a sense of uncertainty haunting her Sixth Form experience, but adds that achieving the grades had ultimately convinced her that the science field was the right path to take.

“For the two years of Sixth Form I was very uncertain about what I wanted to do after my ‘A’ Levels and I considered options very different to medicine, but now I’m very happy with my choice,” she says, adding that she always enjoys challenging herself as much as possible.

Although she did her best to set herself up with the best possible options and give herself the pick of the crop in terms of what courses to follow, Suleiman added that she had tried to involve herself in as many extracurricular activities as possible in her first year at Sixth Form – such as taking part in the Junior Achievement Young Enterprise programme as well as the Malta Student Science Forum (MSSF) with James Scicluna as her partner, which scored them a research trip to the Swiss Alps.

She adds that the early hobby of dancing remains a priority for her, and she attends at least three lessons a week to this day.

“It’s challenging to strike a balance, but it’s definitely not impossible,” she said.

Scicluna, who had exactly the same subjects as Suleiman, said that social gatherings were a very necessary part of his routine at Sixth Form, both as stress relief, and as a way to discuss some of the topics being studied.

Camilleri shares Scicluna’s opinion, and she explains that long hours of study, although necessary in her case, would not have been enough unless she was truly interested in what she was learning.

“Time management was always one of my strong suits, and thanks to that skill I managed to participate in a number of activities including St Aloysius soirée and a part time job,” she said. “I also know my limits, however, and I have had to refuse certain social occasions due to my studies, particularly closer to exam periods,” she adds.

Scicluna also said that his Sixth Form years also saw him develop another hobby: photography.

“I was the appointed ‘Sixth Form photographer’ so I was involved in most St Aloysius activities, from the soirée, to the SACfest, yearbooks and sporting events,” he said, adding that photography and creativity have always been major stress relievers for him, and that he had also continued to practise freelance photography throughout the two years.

Scicluna adds that although achieving those grades had been something of a dream come true, in the long term he felt like it hadn’t really given him an advantage above other students.

“At that point I knew as much as everyone else in my course. The thought was both humbling and refreshing,” he said.

Perhaps you might be tempted to think that achieving such marks depends largely on the subject in question, with Camilleri, Suleiman and Scicluna being science students, but as youth studies professor Andrew Azzopardi explains, getting such high marks is more about being gifted, than about the subjects you choose.

“I think all students would like to get high marks, but the truth is that students who get those grades consistently, are not only high fliers but also gifted,” Azzopardi said.

Indeed it is worth noting that the aptitude of the students interviewed for this piece is in no way limited to their main subjects. Ellul, who has become a doctor since sitting for his ‘A’ Levels, has had a number of different interests, and even working as a journalist for some time.

“I had always dreamt of becoming a doctor, but achieving my full potential in everything I attempt has always been one of my main aims,” Ellul said, adding that he had done his best to accompany his studying with a variety of extracurricular activities, including the participation in various scientific projects, part-time jobs and voluntary work.

Ellul explained that although he had always taken studying sciences seriously, he had also chosen to try out different languages like German and Spanish, as well as holding several work experience posts at a bookshop, teaching English to foreign students, as well as voluntary work at his parish throughout his sixth form years.

“Time management is key here. I believe that studying is of paramount importance, but if you choose to dedicate all of your time to studying, years will fly by without really allowing you to enjoy life,” he said.

“I believe that where there’s a will, there’s a way, and if one finds joy in one’s studies, I see no reason why one should shy away from blending one’s academic duties with the day-to-day life, using every occasion and activity to further enrich personal and social experiences,” he adds.

Similarly 24-year-old Rachael Darmanin, who now serves as an assistant visiting lecturer in Engineering at the University of Malta, explained how her academic history had ultimately helped her to embark on a career in academia, something she had naturally become passionate about given her love for studying.

 “Having an excellent academic record, ultimately encouraged me to choose academia over an industrial engineering job, and it is important to have such a track record in order to be able to pass on knowledge to other students, but it in no way stops there,” Darmanin says, explaining how obtaining straight As had ultimately set her up for her future.

“Being in academia means that I will never stop studying and researching my topics to remain as relevant as possible, so a degree of passion also comes into it,” she adds.

However much she likes studying and admits to having had a strict studying regime throughout her life, Darmanin insists however, that the notion of ‘A’ levels is often so highly overstated, that it inhibits people who strive to get the best grades possible from engaging in more social activities, because of the fear that they have that they would be wasting time if they do so.

“Personally, I have to study something more than once until it sinks in and the concept is clear in my head, so as to achieve good marks, but I still advocate engaging in extracurricular activities, particularly during the sixth form years,” she says.

In fact, Darmanin lists participating in St Aloysius College Soiree as well as completing the President’s Award Scheme (which I can confirm is no simple task) during her Sixth Form years.

But, getting straight ‘A’s is not just the remit of science students, and 18-year-old Anna Calleja, whose main topics were English and history, insists that getting high marks is about being passionate about your subjects, rather than just studying for long periods of time.

“I think I’ve always aimed high but also hoped that everything would fall into place without me having to work too hard, so that procrastinating till the very eve of the exam season became something of a routine in itself for me,” Calleja said, adding that she credits being interested in everything she set her mind to with achieving the marks she got.

“On the whole I can say I was always very relaxed and didn’t really do my homework, but I still managed to pull through by remembering key ideas from the lessons,” she said, describing her studying pattern.

“I’m not the type of person to stick to a timetable or to spend days locked up inside to study, but the frequent testing system at St Aloysius meant that I was repeatedly cramming knowledge before each set of exams,” she said.

Calleja added that another key to the results, beyond good exam techniques, was that she managed to find a way to intertwine all her subjects.

“For instance, I studied history, (which was also my ‘A’ level) in every one of my subjects: theatre history in Theatre Studies, history of philosophy in Philosophy history of art in Systems of Knowledge, as well as history of literature in my other ‘A’ Level, English.”

Calleja adds that being passionate about your subjects ultimately helps you to create the necessary links between your subjects.

“I remember coming out of the English and history exams thinking I had actually enjoyed myself, because I was ultimately writing about things I care about,” she said, adding that the same principle held for her excellent performance in Biology – her only science subject.

Asked how she felt the marks had set her up for her future, Calleja said that she was currently using her knowledge of English to teach English to foreign students, but that beyond that she was still uncertain of her future.

She adds that after taking Art ‘A’ Level during the summer between her first and second year at Sixth Form, out of her own interest, she had also started taking commissions for her work.

As different as those interviewed are, they all agreed on one fundamental point: that passion is necessary to become properly acquainted and comfortable with the subjects in question, no matter what they are.

“Being passionate about your subjects ultimately means that studying stops being a chore and becomes a genuine exercise in satisfying your curiosity,” Ellul said.