Congratulations from the Director

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Dear Parents,

 

Welcome to the start of term at Dulwich International High School Zhuhai.  I wanted to start by acknowledging some tremendous achievements:

 

Recognizing our students’achievements

One of the privileges of being in education is that we can experience the joy of seeing young people succeed.   

I was delighted to learn in June that a team of our students had successfully competed in the regional rounds of the World Scholars Cup, and were therefore eligible to attend the world finals to be held at Yale University (The Tournament of Champions).  Many congratulations to these students on this wonderful achievement.

The beginning of term also brings with it the rewards of the previous year’s hard work.  Our students are to be commended for some exceptional examination results yet again.

Our IGCSE were amongst the best ever, with A* / A results at nearly 60% and A*-B at nearly 80%.  We had 13 students with 8 or more A*/ A grades.  

Our AS grades remain very strong. With our 2018 results being our strongest ever, we were pleased to have so many students achieve A-B grades at over 66% in 2019.

Our A2 grades are so important as our students seek to enter some of the world’s best fit universities.  This year has seen yet again some exceptional results. Again, nearly 60% of our grades were A*-A this year and nearly 85% A*-B.  Importantly, our graduating class of 2019 have seen notable improvements from the grades they achieved at AS last year.  This is a significant achievement given that last year’s AS grades were our best ever.

 

Adding value

Grades are important, but progress is the real measure of a school.  High attaining students that ‘do better than they might typically expect to do’ is the indicator of a school that makes a positive difference.  I am delighted to report that for 2019 we have added value at both IGCSE, AS and A2 exams.  This means that typically, students do better at Dulwich Zhuhai than they would be ‘expected to do’ based on a statistical analysis of their prior attainment.  We have been able to achieve this ‘value added’ in all external examination series since 2016, an achievement rarely matched in schools.

 

University success

We continue to believe that part of our role is to provide opportunities for our students to be open-minded, questioning and independent thinkers so they can thrive at University.  I am delighted that so many of our students have achieved their first choice placement - with over 85% of our students having received offers from QS Top 50 universities (and nearly 90% from Top 100 universities). 

This year we have alumni attending some of the following universities (and the list keeps growing):  University College London, Imperial College London, Edinburgh University, Manchester University, McGill University, University of Melbourne, University of Toronto, Hong Kong University, London School of Economics, Bristol University, Warwick University, amongst others.

So, as we start the year ahead, can I again say ‘Welcome’ to Dulwich International High School Zhuhai, and ‘Thank you’ for all that you do in supporting us as we encourage your child to ‘be the best they can be’.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                   Andrew Macdonald-Brown

                                                                                                                                                                            Director of Dulwich International High School Zhuhai