The Trinity College London examinations in Drama & Speech assess students’ English speaking and communication skills abilities through a variety of performance arts. These are graded examinations conducted at various registered locations across the globe and are highly competitive and life-shaping. Ideally, the examiners from Trinity visit the centre to conduct and assess the exams. However this year, owing to Covid, the candidates were required to submit videos of their performances on an online portal which were then assessed by the examiners.
Unnathi Suranaa from Surat was trained by Mr Nirav Shah from Pro English Academy, Surat. She appeared for Speech and Drama – Grade 3 examination in Feb 2021.
On the day of the examination(recording), Unnathi appeared for her digital exam and this was her first instance appearing for the Trinity examination. To her Sir’s and my utter disbelief, Unnathi performed her examination pieces without forgetting any of her lines for the pieces. After her performance, her mentor remarked,” This is incredible. You are one of the two students (from a total of 48) who have given me a one-take exam and this is as fair and square as a one to one exam would be.” If we consider her peers, they are all neurotypical students but Unnathi likes to take the challenges in her stride and looks forward to giving her best shot each time.
During her exam video recording, she realised that she had goofed up in one place and so she asked her Sir, “What if I don’t get Distinction?” to which he instantly replied, “We are ordinary people. We are not qualified enough to grade a special person like you. You are limitless. Don’t let marks ever define you.”
And yes, she did score a Distinction. The results are a testimony to Unnathi’s persistence and determination backed by the motivation and positivity of a true Guru.
