CedarBridge Academy students preparing for end of year exams received some extra help from the international business community.

A group of insurance professionals from the Bermuda International Long Term Insurers and Reinsurers association volunteered to hold a series of review sessions at the school during the past month.

Some 114 senior students took Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations in mathematics earlier this month.

The pre-exam review sessions took place over the lunch period, demonstrating the students’ dedication and commitment to determining their own success.

The Biltir professionals worked with CedarBridge teachers to focus the sessions on the most challenging sections of the curriculum, and provided condensed study notes and a set of practice problems for students to use as they prepared.

Wendy Outerbridge, Biltir’s corporate secretary, said: “Biltir companies employ professionals with strong math backgrounds, namely actuaries, accountants and IT specialists. These professionals have all completed several difficult mathematics-based exams to achieve their designations, so the volunteers could draw from that experience, understanding the pressure that the students feel, and offer helpful tips for exam preparation.”

Scott Selkirk, a life actuary at Somerset Re and one of the volunteers at Biltir, said: “The math teachers at CedarBridge have really done the hard work in preparing the students over the past two years; our goal was to jump-start the review process that the students must do on their own.”

Andrew Sooboodoo, chief risk officer at Legal & General Re, and joint coordinator of the programme said: “Biltir members were very pleased to be able to help the students in their upcoming examinations by providing additional tuition. We wish every student success.”

Instructional leader at CedarBridge Academy, Robert Steede, added: “This programme is invaluable because of the review opportunity offered, delivered by someone other than their teacher. The opportunity for our students to ask job-related questions of your colleagues reinforces their current job aspiration or provides them with alternative possibilities.

“Last week their mathematics teacher told me they were particularly excited after the lunch session on probability — the presenters were able to provide them with real-life applications with probability.”

Kalmar Richards, CedarBridge Principal, said: “The tutoring programme offered by Biltir professionals provided students who were in the final stages of preparing for the IGCSE Math examination with an awesome opportunity to connect their learning with real world applications and to have content reinforced and reviewed in new ways.

“Having the tutoring sessions delivered by qualified professionals also underscores for students the importance and value of what they are learning.

“Having members of Biltir volunteer their time to tutor the students for so many sessions speaks to the commitment of the tutors and demonstrates their support of teacher efforts to help students to master concepts. It also sends a message that the “professionals” want students to be successful.

“We value the partnership we have with Biltir and are most appreciative of the generous amount of time that Biltir tutors have invested in our students this year and last. The experiences of our students have been enriched and intensified by the coaching and tutoring provided by Biltir members. So many of the students have indicated to me that the sessions were tremendously beneficial. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Biltir in the years to come.”

The relationship between Biltir and CedarBridge is now in its second year. Biltir plans to continue with the programme next year.

Mrs Outerbridge said: “Biltir companies represent a growing sector of the international business community in Bermuda, and we want to make sure that local students know we are invested in developing the future talent of our industry.”