A precocious Dubai schoolboy has described himself as feeling both excited and relieved after earning an A* grade in A-level mathematics at the tender age of 13.
Alex George, a pupil at Hartland International School, is determined to keep his education journey on the fast track as he sets his sights on a university challenge.
The young mathematics marvel, whose mother is from Turkmenistan and father is Indian, has been part of his school's accelerated learning programme in maths for three years.
In January last year, he sat the mathematics IGCSE exams and outperformed most other pupils when he achieved a nine, the highest grade possible in the paper.
It was fitting that the pupil, who sat the exam years in advance, made a suitably early start to discover his impressive results on Thursday.
Currently in the US, he woke at 4am to happy news.
“I was excited to be doing something so early, mostly because of the challenge, because there's no point in doing something that that's easy for you. You should always challenge yourself, so I tried that with the A-levels," Alex said.
“The content of the exam was reasonably difficult, but there were more questions than usual so it was more about time management than difficulty.
“Currently I am in the United States, so I woke up at 4am to find out the results. It was pretty surprising for me, because I felt like I had messed up the first exam since I wasn't expecting the extra questions."
Asked about how he felt when he saw his grade he said: "It was a lot of mixed emotions. I was excited and relieved.”
A young learner making his mark
Now that he has achieved the highest qualification for high-school mathematics, the pupil hopes to soon start work on university-level courses.
“Also, there are other qualifications in mathematics. My school has told to me that there are things planned for me to do when school starts again, in relation to mathematics. Hopefully, eventually, I'll get to doing university classes, maybe online," Alex said.
The pupil said he had not decided if he wanted to pursue mathematics at university level because he also enjoyed computer sciences.
Through the years, he said it was the mathematics department at his school that supported him with his ambitious plans.
When his school realised he was able to do mathematics higher than his grade, they tested him and placed him in an accelerated learning programme.
His mathematics teachers helped him prepare for the A-level exam.
Alex is also a former UAE national school-level chess champion. At the age of eight, he was the UAE schools chess champion in 2017, and again in 2019.
He was also the reigning Dubai schools chess champion in his age category from 2017 to 2019.
In 2016, he participated in the Asian Youth Chess Championship, aged 7.
A-Level joy for UAE pupils - in pictures
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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Dos
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- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
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- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group C
Liverpool v Red Star Belgrade
Anfield, Liverpool
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Episode list:
Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5: Travel and tourism
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
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