Information for University and College Admissions Teams

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Extenuating circumstances for academic year 2019-2020

While we realize that this past year has been extraordinary for the world, we would like to highlight the additional stress that Lebanon has had to bear beyond the effects of Covid-19. These elements have not only affected our grading system, but also our students’ performance.

Challenges beyond COVID-19
This year our students have had to face many challenges other than those brought on by a global pandemic. Protests beginning as early as October caused road, business and school closures for weeks at a time. A collapse of the banking and financial system ensued, causing an inordinate strain on almost all families. Against this background, schools were shut at the end of February, for the remainder of the year, due to Covid-19.

Though the school worked to provide online schooling through MSTeams, an already dysfunctional electricity and telecoms sector in the country, plus the additional expense of internet and laptops, did not make for a smooth transition. While lectures continued more or less unimpeded, proper assessments were difficult to carry out as grades are based fully on tests rather than participation, attendance or homework. 

A note on school transcripts

For reasons outlined above, school transcripts for the 2019-2020 academic year will only reflect whatever grade or grades were given during the assessments taken at school during the brief period that students were physically present. This could mean that the number is based on a single test from the beginning of the year. Collège Notre Dame de Jamhour prides itself on fairness and transparency, and for this reason did not inflate or otherwise alter the grades of any students in the entirety of the school.

Predicted grades
As one of the top schools in the country and a French accredited institution by the AEFE (AGENCE POUR L’ENSEIGNEMENT FRANÇAIS A L’ÉTRANGER), we offer students a double French and Lebanese curriculum. As such, our academic requirements exceed those of the French baccalaureate alone and demand a rigorous level of organization, determination, and diligence from our students. As a result, globally, our students consistently score higher on the official baccalaureate exams.

While the school has taken into consideration the double curriculum as well as the various factors affecting students this year into account in predicting their grades for next year, we have decided not to amend their grades of last year to reflect these challenges, in the interest of transparency. We are aware that students are having to cope not only with the political and financial realities affecting the country, but also more recently, with the devastating explosion of August 4th that has obliterated half the city. We understand that their performance at official exams may be negatively affected as a result.

 

That said, Collège Notre Dame de Jamhour is tremendously proud of the resilience, maturity, drive, and motivation that our Senior students have displayed during these multiple crises. We urge the Admissions Committees to consider the toll this disruptive year has had on our students when assessing their applications.