Hamilton Boys' High student achieves Top in World accolade in Cambridge awards

Alex Liu from Hamilton Boys High School achieved top in the world in Cambridge IGCSE Co-ordinated Sciences. Photo / Supplied

Kiwi students are not sitting on their laurels despite being faced with tremendous challenges over the past couple of years, including not being able to physically attend class for many months.

Instead they are topping New Zealand and the world with their academic achievements.

The 2021 Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards have been given to the best and brightest of academia in secondary schools around the country. Alex Liu from Hamilton Boys' High School achieved Top in the World in Cambridge IGCSE Co-ordinated Sciences, a double award. His story is one of hard work and perseverance during what has been a testing time.

His focus on academics means Alex has been top of his year group over the past three years, and he balances his studies with reading, running and the outdoors, competitive badminton and helping with the school service club. He is working towards his licentiate diploma in piano.

"I feel happy knowing that my efforts have been recognised," Alex says. "[The awards] are an indication to me of what I am capable of and motivate me to continue working hard. I think that it's also important though, to enjoy the process and the journey."

Speaking about his experiences of school during each lockdown, Alex says, "I took advantage of the flexibility online learning offered – I could work at my own pace and I found there was a lot of extra time to do research into topics I enjoyed. I developed good organisational skills last year, which made everything well-structured and helped to reduce stress."

Last year Alex chose to study Cambridge for the first time: "I am aiming to study overseas, so Cambridge International would definitely be beneficial in that sense. Also, the breadth of the curriculum drew me in – it gave me the opportunity to learn a lot of things, which prepares me for future years and makes learning something I genuinely enjoy doing. The sciences are especially relevant as I am considering a career in medicine."

A good learner is being enthusiastic and enjoying the subjects you're studying, he says.

"One of the things that helped during Covid was being in touch with my teachers consistently. They were very understanding and supportive when I was learning remotely. One of my role models is my sister, who did very well in her academics. We have a kind of sister-brother rivalry, which motivates me to surpass her achievements – and with my classmates, having that competition encourages me to constantly improve," he says.

Kathleen Lloyd-Parker, senior country manager, New Zealand at Cambridge International, says the award-winning students' achievements are all the more remarkable given the headwinds all students, teachers and schools faced last year, when many Kiwi students were unable to physically attend class for many months.

She said: "Part of what Cambridge International helps to instil in students is resilience – the ability to focus and remain tenacious in pursuit of their goals even when elements are outside their control or life is not going as planned. This year's impressive Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards recipients exemplify resilience, fortitude and perseverance. They kept adapting and adjusting through what was another tough academic year and showed integrity by turning up to class and exams.

In total, 130 awards were achieved in New Zealand. These included 28 Top in World and 48 Top in New Zealand awards for those who came first in a given subject either among all global students or their peers in New Zealand.

All of the awards recognised the achievements of New Zealand students who took Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International AS and A Levels in the June and November 2021 exam series.