One hundred and nineteen students from 46 schools in South Africa have received prestigious awards from Cambridge International to acknowledge their outstanding performance in the June and November 2017 Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International AS & A Level examination series. In South Africa there are currently over 90 Cambridge accredited schools located across the country.
The Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards recognise the success of students taking Cambridge examinations in over 40 countries around the world. The students excelled in the following categories:
Top in the World: learners who have gained the highest standard mark in the world for a single subject.
Top in Country: learners who have gained the highest standard mark in the country for a single subject.
High Achievement: learners who have achieved outstanding results in subjects which are not so widely taken and which, under the current criteria, would not qualify for ‘Top in Country’ Awards.
Best Across: awards issued to learners who have attained the highest cumulative standard marks over a set number of subjects.
Cambridge International places learners at the centre of its programmes and qualifications which are underpinned by the latest educational research.
Some of the schools and students who received awards made the following comments about their achievements:
Francis Moran from Glenwood High School who received Top in South Africa for Cambridge IGCSE Geography and Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives for the November 2017 exam series said:
“I am honoured, and somewhat surprised, to have achieved ‘Top in Country’ and ‘High Achievement’ awards in different disciplines in addition to a good performance across the board. After finishing the syllabus content in each subject, my revision was mainly based on doing practice questions, past papers, watching relevant YouTube videos, and making sure that I was in good health by eating well and exercising. My advice to other students is to work hard, consistently, throughout the course, and make sure that you understand everything you are taught. I am planning on going to university. I am considering medicine, but a lot of other STEM courses interest me as well.”
Andri Barnes, Acting Principal, Glenwood High School:
“We are exceptionally proud of our students’ achievements considering the fact that we only embarked on this programme four years ago. It is encouraging to see how teachers and students have embraced the Cambridge curriculum and how the interest has grown. Teaching the Cambridge programme requires constant professional development of the teachers. The focus is different, the methodology is different and therefore the results are different. The boys are no longer focusing on content, but have learnt to critically engage with the content. Judging from the progress of our top student, we recommend independent research and extension beyond the required guidelines provided.”
Gareth Tucker, Director of Cambridge Programme, Somerset College
“We are very proud of our students who have received Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards. It is recognition for their hard work and commitment. Their positive attitudes and good work ethics, joined with the committed effort from passionate teachers, have allowed them to achieve excellent results. The Cambridge curriculum encourages students to think critically and to work independently. This deepens their understanding of the topics at hand Students should be prepared to engage fully with each subject. Self-discipline and responsibility are key to achieving success.”
Juan Visser, Cambridge International’s Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, says that the awards recognised the talent, dedication and commitment of both learners and staff. “Well done to the Cambridge top achievers in South Africa. We are delighted that learners at our accredited schools continue to excel year in, and year out. They are well placed to take on the next challenge in their young lives; be this university, college or the world-of-work. Our programmes are designed to equip students with the necessary skills needed to succeed in life, and our qualifications are recognised by universities around the world. I would be amiss if I did not recognise the dedicated teachers without whom these achievements would not have been possible. We wish these students all of the best for the future,” says Visser.
All of the top performing students will receive certificates from Cambridge International in recognition of their achievements.
Additional quotes:
Annalie Swanepoel from Somerset College was awarded Top in World for Cambridge IGCSE Afrikaans as a Second Language for the November 2017 examination series
“It was great knowing that hard work truly was rewarded and this achievement motivated me to work especially hard in my other Cambridge courses this year. I really enjoyed the Cambridge IGCSE Afrikaans programme and I am also enjoying the Cambridge International AS Level programme that I am currently doing. I find that Cambridge programmes really explore subjects in depth and provide students with a broad knowledge of each subject, which makes the programmes very interesting. The Cambridge syllabus does require a significant amount of hard work and I encourage all students to put in the time to work through the material thoroughly because grasping the key concepts and gaining a full understanding of the work is essential in order to do well in the exams. Past papers also proved to be extremely helpful in testing understanding and I encourage all students to try a few of them before taking the exam. After school, I am planning to go to university and study in the field of computer science.”
Niclas Baur, Somerset College, was awarded Top in South Africa for Cambridge International A Level Biology for the November 2017 examination series
“I was quite surprised (and of course very happy) to hear about my Biology achievement. The subject was my main focus last year as I knew I wanted to major in marine biology at university, so this was very important to me. It was tough at times, and I was very stressed before the Cambridge International A Level finals. The biggest step up was between grade 10 and AS Level - not necessarily due to an increase in difficulty, but because the workload was much larger than what I was accustomed to. I prepared for the finals by reading and re-reading sections from the textbook over and over to get a feel for what I most needed to study, then making summary notes of those sections and working through past papers. I am currently a first year BSc student at the University of Cape Town, majoring in Marine Biology. My courses this year are mostly based on chemistry, biology, maths and statistics, so it's not all that different from last year.”
Daniel Van Dyk, Somerset College, was awarded Top in World for Cambridge International AS Level Language & Literature in English for the Nov 2017 exam series
“I'm obviously proud of my achievement, but also humbled when I think about those that performed extraordinarily as well, but do not receive much recognition. The Cambridge programme is very intellectually challenging and fulfilling. My success is due to the fact that I worked consistently hard throughout the year, and only revised the content at the end. I am planning to go to university but undecided between the sciences, applied sciences and humanities.”
