Yew Chung International School (YCIS) has earned a top honour from University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). YCIS was presented with the “Cambridge Award for Excellence in Education” today in recognition of their longstanding commitment to providing a world-class, global education. Notably, they are the first and only group of schools in China to receive this award.The success of the YCIS programme is reflected by their students’ results, including:

• Cambridge Top in the World IGCSE Awards
• Top in China IGCSE Awards
• High Achievement in IGCSE Awards
• Best Across IGCSE Awards
• Achievement of the highest percentages in A* - A across a wide range of subjects in the June 2011 examination series

These awards are some of the most recent examples of the history of excellence at YCIS.

“This is a great honour for our students, staff, administrators and directorate who have all worked very hard to achieve excellence within the IGCSE curriculum established by CIE,” said Tom Ulmet, Superintendent of YCIS in Mainland China, who accepted the award on behalf of the schools and the Director, Dr. Betty Chan. “Special certificates have been given for the past three years as a new type of regional honour by CIE. YCIS Shanghai and YCIS Beijing were joined last year by YCIS Chongqing and YCIS Qingdao in having Top in China and/or Top in the World examination results. This year CIE are recognising the bigger picture of performance outcomes, and YCIS has certainly earned its place by having more Top in China and Top in the World Awards than any other single group of schools in China. This is certainly an exceptional, newsworthy and outstanding result.”

All students in Years 10-11 (Key Stage 4) embark upon a two-year programme of study leading to the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examinations. These examinations form a bridge between Key Stage 3 and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme in Key Stage 5. During the IGCSE years, the students’ particular interests and strengths are focused across a variety of subjects, including the core subjects of English Language and Literature, Chinese Language, Mathematics and Science, and are complimented by optional subjects that range from Art and Design to History to Business Studies, and more. The examinations are taken at the end of Year 11.

Attending the afternoon ceremony were YCIS administrators and division heads, and CIE representatives, including Ms. Ann Puntis, CIE CEO, Ms. Janet Morris, CIE Director of Communications and Customer Relationships, Dr. Ben Schmidt, CIE Regional Director Asia Pacific, Ms. Stella Jiang, CIE Senior Schools Development Manager for China, and Ms. Lina Li, CIE Schools Development Manager for China.

CIE is the global leader in international standard qualifications for five- to 19-year-olds, and its IGCSE results are recognised by educational institutions, universities and employers worldwide.

The YCIS network of schools include campuses in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Qingdao and Chongqing, China, as well as Silicon Valley, US. YCIS provides a unique learning environment and a bilingual programme that emphasises both English and Chinese language and culture.