Pupils in the UAE coped with pandemic-related challenges and beat the odds to achieve record GCSE results this year.
UAE schools reported higher averages than the past few years with some schools saying pupils had performed better than ever.
Top marks at UK schools, meanwhile, dropped as the number of grades awarded between seven and the top score of nine fell by 3 per cent and the overall pass rate also fell.
Star pupil excited at getting nines in eight subjects
Sreya Gupta, 16, an Indian pupil at British School Al Khubairat, achieved eight exam scores of nine and one of eight, but in the hopes of getting straight nines said she would send the last paper for checking because she had missed by only a mark.
“For me it was nervous excitement before I got the result. I was just sitting and waiting to see the results as I was very tense,” said the Year 12 pupil.
“I was quite happy with the grades because I had walked out of the exam hall thinking some did not go so well, but I still got a nine in those subjects."
Sreya achieved nines in English language and literature, biology, chemistry, further mathematics, media studies, economics, and geography and got an eight in physics.
For her A levels, she intends to study mathematics, English literature, chemistry and economics with an aim to pursue a subject that is a fusion of Stem and humanities at university.
Pupil recovering from surgery is school's top scorer
Habibah Rashwan, 16, a British pupil at Brighton College Dubai, achieved five nines in maths, geography, drama, sciences, two A* in English and English literature and one 8 in design and technology.
Habibah, who is the school's head pupil scored the highest marks awarded to a pupil at Brighton. She also underwent major spinal surgery in the run-up to exams, forcing her to attend six weeks of classes remotely, and to sit exams while still recovering from the operation.
She was named Brightonian of the Year in the school’s awards for 2022.
For the pupil, receiving the result after the health challenges she had faced, was a huge achievement.
“I feel really ecstatic and did not expect this. Especially after having my year disrupted, I tried to lower my expectations, but when I opened the email with my results, I can't describe the feeling. I was overjoyed ... I really wished I could just freeze the moment in time,” Habibah said.
The pupil in December was found to have advanced adolescent scoliosis and had to travel to the UK for spinal fusion surgery in February.
“I had a drastic curve, around 60 degrees, which meant it had passed the point where I could have just worn a brace or gone for physiotherapy. Unfortunately, because my curve was so high, I had to undergo surgery. And I was told that it would be better to do it as soon as possible instead of waiting," she said.
She weighed her options and decided to get the surgery before her GCSEs, because she had started to feel some severe pain in her chest and back.
“I had a lot of faith in myself and I had faith that everything would work out," she said.
"However, there was a lot of difficulty just before the surgery. I was emotionally having a difficult time really, processing the fact that I've had this and that I'm going to have to go into surgery ... that definitely disrupted my effort and my energy to study at that time.
“After surgery, I spent about a month not doing any work because I just couldn't put any more pressure on my body and was already going through a lot with the recovery.
“My teachers gave me a lot of support, they gave me one-to-one sessions if I needed these, just to get that extra help from them … somehow it all just fell into place."
She said she had wanted to do really intense revision a couple of months before the exams, which didn't go as planned.
“I said to myself, lower your expectations because this hasn't been a normal year. But when I opened the email, I was crying I was so happy," she said.
She plans to study biology, chemistry and psychology for her A levels.
Tears of joy
Thomas Bateson, a 16-year-old British-Kazakhstani pupil at Brighton College Dubai, achieved nine scores between 7-9 and was extremely happy.
“I have been waiting for months to get these results. I was quite surprised and am really happy with these grades," Thomas said.
“I was not worried earlier but was scared before opening the envelope. I cried when I got my results."
The pupil achieved A* in English, French and geography and aims for a career in diplomacy.
For his A levels, he will study history, French and politics.
From a D to an A
Sofiya Zhuravleva, 16, a pupil at Brighton College Dubai, said she was very excited at receiving her results.
"I have been getting a C or D in history and ended up getting an A. I am just so happy. I feel amazing and I have never been happier. I feel like all my work paid off," said Sofiya, who is from Russia.
"I worked every day for two hours for the last two years. It was my biggest challenge and I wanted to achieve this."
She does not wish to study history for her A levels.
She was graded a nine in arts, eight in drama, maths eight, Russian nine, got an eight in double science and an A* in English and English Literature.
"I wanted to take the exams, these are better than teacher-assessed grades because exams are more of a challenge. They allow you to prepare for nerve-racking situations in future life," she said.
"I am very glad we had exams as it allowed me to prove to myself that I am able to achieve the goals I set."
Culmination of two years' hard work
Alice Sullivan, a 16-year-old pupil at The British International School Abu Dhabi, achieved seven nines and two eights in her GCSEs.
She got nines in English language, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, French and Spanish.
"I was really excited and was quite nervous beforehand. It was two years of preparation and I felt like it was the climax of all this work.
"In biology, I got a seven in the mock exam but I felt like I did a lot better this time and was not expecting to go up two grades.
"With my science subjects, I worked very hard doing my past papers to try and learn the proper way to answer the questions."
The pupil said she put in a lot of effort and went over a lot of content.
She said she worked hardest during exam season because she felt the pressure pushed her to do better.
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
MATCH INFO
Fulham 0
Aston Villa 3 (Grealish 4', Hourihane 15', Mings 48')
Man of the match: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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Under 14 – Unam Pumas
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The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
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Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
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Race card
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 1,200m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 2,000m
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
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Director: Christian Carion
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ELECTION%20RESULTS
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RESULTS
2pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m. Winner: Masaali, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap Dh 76,000 (D) 1,400m. Winner: Almoreb, Dane O’Neill, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
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4pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (D) 1,000m. Winner: Cross The Ocean, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
4.30pm: Handicap 64,000 (D) 1,950m. Winner: Sa’Ada, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash.
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
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Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
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Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
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ENGLAND SQUAD
For first two Test in India Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson , Dom Bess, Stuart Broad , Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. Reserves James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.
Pros%20and%20cons%20of%20BNPL
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UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
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England v South Africa Test series:
First Test: at Lord's, England won by 211 runs
Second Test: at Trent Bridge, South Africa won by 340 runs
Third Test: at The Oval, July 27-31
Fourth Test: at Old Trafford, August 4-8
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
