Students speak out about big scary move to Kensington Olympia

Not even a full two weeks into the New Year and King’s has already unleashed the horrors of January exams upon its students.

On top of that, Kensington Olympia Exhibition Centre hosted them for the first time.

We got down to Strand Campus and some of the King’s Residences to find out what you thought about the new location.

Nadia Saward, English Literature, first year

“As an environment it was pretty stress-free. The fact that you were surrounded by people doing the same exam as you meant that you weren’t too nervous.

“The rooms themselves were pretty quiet but when you have people finishing exams after one hour and you have two more hours to go, it is a bit disillusioning.”

Emilie Mac Meekin, Business Management, first year

“Having exams there was really stressful. The loudspeakers were distracting.

“The room was very big and very cold which didn’t help.

“The fact that people had different exams with different timings meant the loudspeaker was constantly disrupting everyone.

“But on the plus side, my exam wasn’t too hard!”

Pardeep Sagoo, Maths, first year

“It was a pretty good environment although it sort of felt like a prison, because it was huge and everyone was confined to their desk.”

Archie Greenslade, Medicine, first year

“It was quite intimidating because it was a very large hall. But in many ways it was the same as any other exam hall I’ve been in.

“We had a lot of trouble getting there, especially with the trains at rush hour.

“We left two hours to do the journey just to be safe.”

Ellie Price, English Literature, first year

“We had to stand outside for ages because we were early and we weren’t allowed in.

“When we got inside, we were held like cattle in one room. Although it did give you a chance to calm down and check your candidate number.

“The voice from above was pretty scary as well but once you were inside the exam hall, it was fine.”

Priyanka Verma, Law, first year

“I thought the venue was really spacious and there were a good number of attendants directing you to the right place.

“In terms of getting there, I took the overground directly from my house so it was really convenient.”

Barry O’Reilly, Music, second year

“Definitely stressful. Seeing such a large number of people as you walk into a room is certainly nerve-wracking.

“Plus having massive steel doors close down in front of your face made it feel like a prison.”