07 Mar 2019
An impressive crop of New Zealand secondary school students, including 30 Top in World award winners, were honoured at a recent Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards ceremony.
The ceremony, held at the Eden Park sports stadium in Auckland, recognised 115 students from 21 schools for High Achievement, Top in World, Top in New Zealand and Best Across for Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International AS & A Level exams in 2018.
Danielle Tweedale, aged 17, of Macleans College, won Top in World at Cambridge International AS Level Music and High Achievement at Cambridge International A Level Music.
'I didn’t really have the awards goal in mind,' said Danielle.
'I just tried my best. I really love music as a subject, so I think that helped. At Cambridge International AS Level I did a performance in piano, submitted two compositions and did an exam where we wrote essays analysing difference pieces.
'There were lots of opportunities to perform because Macleans has different music groups, like the choir and orchestra, and I was able to study different composers, from Haydn and Beethoven to more impressionistic pieces.'
Having completed her Cambridge International A Levels in Year 12, this year she is pursuing a New Zealand Qualifications Authority scholarship in music, English, chemistry, biology, statistics and physical education. She will also study for her Associateship Diploma from Trinity College London (ATCL) in music.
Subin Wui, of Pinehurst School, accepted the Top in World award for Cambridge International AS Level Mathematics.
She said: 'It is a very challenging course and you only have once chance, so I always set my target and try to make the most out of the exam and get beyond my maximum ability.
'We are a small school and the teachers are really accessible – I feel comfortable going to them whenever I have a question.'
This year Subin is in Year 13, studying Cambridge International A Levels in Literature, Mathematics, Biology and Chemistry. She hopes to pursue a degree in medicine and possibly dentistry, and plans to study in Korea, her home country, and the United States.
ACG Parnell College produced a number of award winners. Principal Russell Brooke said: 'Cambridge International has a lot of benefits because it accommodates a range of people, both the very brightest and those who have developed through amazing schooling. It’s a very clear, structured programme so both students and teachers know what they have to learn, do and know to push to the level they want to reach.' '
Cambridge exams were taken by approximately 10,000 students in New Zealand and just under one million globally in 2018.