JEDDAH, 18 December 2006 — The British Council held its annual awards ceremony for high Cambridge “O” and “A” level achievers in Saudi Arabia at its Farsi Center premises yesterday.
Mohamed Jamal Al-Amoodi of Al Waha International School was the star among the high achievers who were given awards by Steve Adams, the Dammam-based British Council director.
“Mohamed is honored for scoring the highest math marks in the world,” Adams said. “He scored seven ‘A’ stars — in physics, chemistry, biology, geography, French and IT, aside from math — at ‘A’ level.
“I’m going to Canada to study electronics engineering,” Mohamed said after receiving the award.
Muhammad Ehsanul Hoque of Bangladesh International School (BIS) was honored for achieving first place in math and economics at “A” level. “He is studying for a bachelor of science at New Jersey Institute of Technology in the US,” said his father M. Momtajul Hoque, who works at the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). He got four As, including in physics and accounting.
Akil Muhammad Habibullah, also of BIS, who ranked first in chemistry at “O” level in Saudi Arabia, received the award. Akil, son of Muhammad Habibullah, an engineer who heads the electromechanical department at TRACO, is currently an “A” level student at BIS.
Other achievers who were given awards included Shady Ahmed Mohamed Zaki El-Yaski for computing (Al-Hejaz International School), Ijlal Akbar Ali Muhammad Sharif for math, biology and physics (Manarat Jeddah International School), Muhammad Essam Gabr Al-Sayed for business studies (Al-Kon International School), Ahmed Noureddin Muhammad Ibrahim for English as a second language (Al-Kon), Hesham Muhammad Saber Metwally Nafea for chemistry (Manarat), and Mohaned Yousry El-Balkiny for physics (Manarat).
Adams said the British Council conducted thousands of examinations and several thousand Saudi students had graduated with success. “We promote the UK curriculum. Some 30 international schools across the Kingdom are working with British Council. Our long-term plan is to work with Saudi schools,” Adams told Arab News. “Our aim is to create mutually beneficial partnerships between the schools, the exam board and the British Council to benefit the students.”
