Daniel D'Agostino - Experience

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School Life

I've spent all my school life (September 1991 - April 2005) at St. Edward's College, a private school based on English schools. The college was originally a military hospital (as far as I know), but was converted to a school in 1929 when the first board of governors got together and decided to start a school. The school's 75th anniversary was celebrated in January 2004.


Part of the grounds	The prep school building	The chapel (side view)

The chapel (front view)	The senior school/sixth form building	The middle school building

Secondary Education Qualifications

Having completed the compulsory 11 years at school in April 2003 (and officially finished school on 11th April 2003), between 28th April and 6th June 2003 I sat for the Ordinary Level Examinations (O-levels) under the English IGCSE board and the Maltese SEC board. My results are illustrated below with footnotes.

O-Levels (2003)
Subject	SEC	IGCSE
Maths	2
English	1	B
English Literature	2
Maltese	4
Religion	2
Italian	1	A*
French		A*
Accounts		A
Economics		C
Physics	1	B
Computer Studies		C

Notes about O-level grades

A 1 or an A shows an excellent grade (i.e. it's the highest you can get). In IGCSE, there is also the A* ("A" Star) which is the absolute best (even better than an A). The minimum pass marks are C and 5.
I came first in Italian, French, English Literature and Maltese.
Considering how I came first in Maltese with a relatively poor grade (4), you'll realise how poorly our whole year performed. In fact, out of about 65 students, only 12 passed.
Maltese and English Literature (in that order) are the subjects I hate most. It's funny how I had to come first in them.
I did Computer Studies alone. I never took it as a subject, nor did I take any private lessons.
The English Literature mark is uncertain. MATSEC sent me a 2 home, but sent the school a 1.

Sixth Form

After doing my O-levels, I went to St. Edward's College for another two years. I studied Maths and Physics at Advanced Level (A-Level) at Sixth Form there, along with English, Computer Studies, Accounts and Systems of Knowledge (the last being compulsory) at Intermediate level. I sat for my A-Levels (and Intermediates) between 26th April and 20th May 2005, and all were under the MATSEC board, University of Malta. The reward for passing is the Matriculation Certificate, necessary to enter University.

A-Levels (2005)
Subject	A-Level mark	Intermediate mark	Grade points
Maths	C		18
Physics	C		18
Accounts		B	8
English		B	8
Computer Science		C	6
Systems of Knowledge		C	6
[Overall]	B		64

Notes about A-Level grades

Grades are awarded from A to F, with A being the best.
An E is considered a pass, but most courses in University require a C or better in one or both A-levels.
Grade points are awarded as 6 points per grade for A-levels and 2 points per grade for Intermediates (see the link for more info). The Matriculation Certificate is not awarded to people with less than 44 grade points.

University

I am currently following a [PDF] BSc IT course at the University of Malta. The course is pretty tough and incorporates lots of work, but it's very interesting and very rewarding.