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One of the kingdom’s leading English curriculum schools is celebrating the taste of success after its students scored top marks in tough tests both regionally and globally.
British School of Bahrain pupils have picked up a raft of awards in GCSE, IGCSE and GCE examinations and their successes will further inspire this year’s crop of students currently sitting mock tests, believes delighted executive head Jeff Smith.
Aryaman Arora, of Year 12, achieved the highest mark in the world for GCSE Computer Science and the highest mark in the Middle East for IGCSE Further Pure Mathematics.
He said: “I was definitely surprised, and when I received my results I was in shock, but I’m so happy! I now need to focus and work hard to achieve similar grades at A-Level.”
Also scoring highest worldwide was Muhammad Hamad Javed of Year 11, acing his IGCSE Mathematics despite taking it a year early.
Another accelerated student, Salma Sarkis, achieved the best mark in the kingdom for GCSE Spanish, which will no doubt inspire great confidence when she takes the rest of her GCSEs this summer.
Vian Rifat, of Year 12, achieved the highest mark in Bahrain in English Language and is now taking four A-Levels with a strong interest in medicine and the sciences.
She said: “I love English Language, it’s a really interesting subject, what with analysing different texts and books. I particularly find it fascinating how just one sentence can have so many different meanings and interpretations.
“It makes me feel extremely proud to know that all of the hard work I put into my studies and my revision paid off. I am very grateful to my teachers for helping me to achieve this and it has motivated me to push myself even harder to be even more successful in my A Levels.”
Also impressing was Fares Alqutami of Year 12, achieving best marks in the kingdom for IGCSE English as a Second Language. He explained: “I found studying it as a second language taught me much more than taking the subject as a first language. For example, I learned skills such as writing a letter, how to communicate with friends and construct sentences better.”
Other students on the roll of honour for top marks in the Middle East included Dana Abdulnabi with an IGCSE Science Double Award, Maciej Zajaczkowski in GCE Biology and Samantha Rooke in GCE English Literature.
Maciej and Samantha have since gone on to study at Imperial College London and the University of East Anglia in England respectively, Maciej concentrating on Biomedical Engineering with Samantha focusing on Film and Literature.
BSB says it has a strong track record of students winning places at leading global universities and every support is given to them during the application process. The team also includes Sally Milnes - Head of Year 13 - Senior School, Natalie Cole - Head of Year 11 - Senior School and Ann John - Exams Officer - Senior School.
Coming top in Bahrain was Alexandra Roberts for both IGCSE English Literature and English Language, Cyriaque Genest for GCSE French and Syed Azhan Gillani for GCSE Information & Communication Technology.
Assistant head of school, Wayne Ridgway, said: “We’re so proud of these students for their amazing achievements, not just these individual accolades, but across all their classes. Some might say that the top students do not have to work as hard as their peers and that their success comes naturally, but this is far from the truth.
“I strongly believe that any student can achieve success with dedication and good study habits; this group of talented students are testament to that approach. As a school we had a big drive on revision for Year 11 students, with a carousel of revision classes in addition to normal lessons. They were optional, but very popular.”
Indeed, revision is a big topic at the moment as the current Year 11 pupils are sitting their mock exams in preparation for the ‘real’ exams in summer.
Who better then to inspire and offer studying advice than the students who have achieved the best results amongst their peers?
Vian advises setting goals during revision, both short and long term, and practicing until you achieve them.
Muhammad and Salma both subscribe to the ‘practice makes perfect’ school of thought, with working through revision books and sitting past papers.
Aryaman believes that having and cultivating a passion for a subject is the most important aspect, as then you’ll naturally do well and want to learn more about it.
Fares takes a more hands-on approach and sits with his teachers, going over aspects he doesn’t understand or struggles with.
