Mainstreet Daily News
Three Gainesville High School (GHS) students recently earned the prestigious Cambridge International Learner Award for achieving Top in USA scores on the Cambridge exams.
The students – senior Charles Ye and sophomores Nathan Collier and Yoo-Min Koh – are all enrolled in GHS’s Cambridge program, an academic magnet for high-achieving students that is affiliated with Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
The Cambridge program is offered throughout the world, and students can earn the highly coveted Cambridge diploma and college credits for high scores on Cambridge exams. Over 175,000 students worldwide take Cambridge exams each year. More than 700 U.S. colleges and universities offer credit for Cambridge exams.
Ye earned his Top of USA score on the economics exam and currently takes courses at UF. He says he enjoys the flexibility of the Cambridge program.
“I get to take classes that I enjoy, and there are so many to choose from,” he said in a press release. “If you like STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) there are a lot of STEM-related courses, but you can also choose a lot of classes in the humanities.”
Collier had his top score on the physics exam. He was determined to get a high score and took many practice tests to pinpoint areas where he needed additional work.
“When you’re shooting for a premium high score on a test like that, every point matters,” he said. “So, when you get something you don’t know, you have to figure it out.”
Koh earned his top score on the mathematics exam. Like the other students, Koh was aiming for the highest score possible and said his friends motivated him to do his best.
“Although I have my own motivation, it also helps that I have supportive friends around me to help me do better,” he said. “One of those ways they do this is competition. It’s a lot more fun when you have healthy competition with close friends.”
More than 100 other GHS students have won Cambridge International awards for their performance in Cambridge courses and on exams.
An awards ceremony for the students will be held in the spring.
Congratulations to these students and their teachers!
New concepts in learning are interesting.
I’d heard of ‘practice tests’ before, but thought I had read they weren’t a good idea.