KARACHI, Feb 19: Sixty nine high achieving students in GCE (General Certificate of Education) examinations 2006 were presented with awards at a ceremony organised by the University of Cambridge International Examinations in collaboration with the British Council at a local hotel on Monday. The students included a record breaking 55 world toppers at O Level and nine world toppers at A Level.

Appreciating the performance of students, Cambridge University Group Chief Executive Simon Lebus said 52 students from Pakistan had topped in the world in June 2005 exams at O Level and three at A Level. However, this year Pakistani students had surpassed themselves, with 55 world toppers at O Level and a staggering nine world toppers at A Level.

Thirty three outstanding students from Karachi achieved top marks in the world for individual Cambridge International O and A level exams. Two cash awards of 500 pounds each were presented to Faran Abbas of Beaconhouse School for the Top O Level student in Karachi and Mohammad Khurram Jah of Karachi Grammar School for the Top A Level student in Karachi.

Addressing a press conference later, Cambridge International Examinations Chief Executive Ann Puntis said the performance of students had been remarkably good as compared to other countries and Pakistan had some of the best students in the world. They were warmly received in the UK and had great opportunities to study there.

She dispelled the impression that CIE system charged high fees and contended that the system was one of the most cost-effective, being offered in 150 countries and was recognised by universities and educational providers around the world.

The fees were regionally set and students were not discouraged just because they couldn’t afford.

William Bickerdike said the CIE was first introduced in Karachi Grammar School in 1950 and since then Pakistan had become one of the largest market for GCE qualifications. Though there was no permanent setup for holding the exams, 80 per cent of the exams were held in schools.

Talking to journalists, Faizaan Teizoon Kisat, a student of KGS who topped in the world in mathematics, said the key to success was nothing but persistent hard work.

“By nature, I am a perfectionist. I try to do my best in whatever I do. The message to students is that they should set their priorities right and try to strike a balance between studies and other activities. Having fun is important, too. I love to participate in debates and theatre and have also acted in quite a few stage plays,” he said.