A high-achieving student is flanked by William Bickerdike, left, and Richard Falvey at the awards ceremony. (AN photo by Ghazi Mahdi)

JEDDAH, 1 May 2008 — Students from local schools who excelled at the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), Advanced Subsidiary (AS) and A Level (AL) University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) were awarded certificates at a ceremony held in collaboration with the British Council here yesterday.

They included eight IGCSE students, two of them ranking third in the world, four AL candidates, with Emine Rumeysa Cetiner of Jeddah Al-Wadi International School ranking first in the world in business studies, and seven AS level students.

“I feel great,” Amir Ashraf of Al-Wadi International School (Boys), who ranks third in the world among high achievers in chemistry at IGCSE, told Arab News. He is keen on studying medicine in Canada.

The other IGCSE third world ranker is Zainab Omer Naeem El-Ahmadi (in Arabic) of the Manarat International School.

Khaled Jamal Al-Amoodi of Al-Waha International School received three certificates of excellence in geography, French as foreign language and math.

Pakistan International School’s (English Section) Syed Farhan Bukhari and Muhammad Shahrukh received brilliance awards for their achievement in AS and A Level examinations, respectively.

“The students achieved the best results in the June 2007 Cambridge examination session. The awards recognize students who have scored the highest marks in Saudi Arabia in a single subject at either IGCSE, AS or A Level,” said William Bickerdike, CIE’s regional manager.

Bickerdike, who is currently on a two-week visit to the Kingdom, presented the certificates. Richard Falvey, British Council’s regional examinations manager, is accompanying Bickerdike on his tour of the Kingdom.