16 Sindh students on top of the world, literally

KARACHI: Sixteen students in the province do not only feel on top of the world but they literally are after the announcement of the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards on Saturday. The awards list available with The Express Tribune revealed these students were declared by the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) as ‘Top in the World’ in different IGCSE, O’ and A’ level subjects for scoring the highest marks across the world in June and November 2013 examinations. Another 99 students had either topped in Pakistan or within the province.

Students of the Karachi Grammar School outnumbered their counterparts at other schools across the province by earning a total of 27 awards, while students of the Beaconhouse School System came second with 14 awards.

A drop was observed in the performance of students of The City School, who managed to bag 10 awards as compared to 17 in 2012. The Lyceum School was a close runner-up by securing nine awards.

Sargodhian Spirit Trust Public School in Tando Allahyar again managed to accomplish what many of the well-known schools in Karachi had dreamt of. With around 200 sparse entries as compared to thousands by prominent schools, students of the boarding school continued their feats by securing a total of eight awards.

“The performance will truly inspire the people involved, especially the owner and ideologue of this project, Air Commodore (retired) Shabbir Ahmed - recognised by many as ‘The Angel’,” said Fahmeed Quddus, the public school’s examinations in-charge, while talking to The Express Tribune.

Many schools will be hosting individual awards ceremonies in the coming weeks to celebrate the learners’ achievements. “These outstanding results will be recognised by employers and universities around the world as proof of academic excellence,” said CIE country director Uzma Yousaf Zaka.



“I would like to congratulate the Cambridge learners on their outstanding achievement as they have proved their brilliance in a globally competitive examination and made their country proud,” said Zaka.

The CIE country director said 51 Pakistani students achieved the highest marks in the world and 68 students attained the highest marks in Pakistan in a single subject. The percentage increase of Pakistani students topping the world is around 45 per cent as compared to 35 students in 2012. All in all, around 370 students will receive awards for their exceptional performance in the 2013 Cambridge examinations, as compared to the 260 students in 2012.

For the 2013 O’ and A’ level exams, The Express Tribune learnt that around 500 schools offering Cambridge programmes in Pakistan had issued over 180,000 entries.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2014.