Wani Roslan
International School Brunei (ISB) hosted their annual Board of Directors Achievement Awards Evening for their International Baccalaureate (IB) students who achieved outstanding results in the May 2020 session and celebrated the graduation of the May 2020 Year 13 cohort at the Lecture Theatre on Wednesday night.
ISB Board of Directors Chairman Haji Ahmad bin Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Bakti Diraja Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Isa in his opening speech said, “We are honoured to send our IB graduates all over the world, secure in the knowledge that ISB prepared them to succeed and face challenges with tenacity, determination and positivity.”
In the 2020 cohort of 58 Year 13 students, 18 students received ISB Board of Directors Awards for their performance, marking an outstanding year of IB Diploma results.
The Year 13 Class of 2020 received their graduation certificates, marking the end of their educational journey at ISB.
The Board of Directors Achievement Awards began in 2018, making this event the third time that ISB’s top IB achievers received awards, together with financial bursaries to contribute towards their cost of tertiary education.
Globally, 170,344 students were assessed for the IB Diploma in May, with an average point score of 31.4. The average point score for ISB was 33.
For reaching the top echelon of IB results, graduates received Excellence Awards in Bronze, Silver or Gold categories and graduates who achieved substantial performance improvement were awarded a Special Achievement Award.
Kim Hyeonah, Ashley Ha, Auni Afiqoh, Valerie Tan and Kim Joo Hyung received the Silver Award for achieving between 40 and 42 points overall.
Shannon Yew, Hazwani Omar Ali, Chan Shiuh Lin, Andrea Young Zi Yi and Sulaiman Norhisham received the Bronze Award for achieving between 37 and 39 points.
Hazwani Omar Ali, Sulaiman Norisham, Shreya Pradhan, Isabel Una Klaja, Kayleigh Patricia Erminda Bogart, Chuang Wei-Che, ‘Aisyah Batrisya Dr Muhd Hiza Wardy, Henry Kwang Wei Liang, Shi YingJie and Fenila Babu Vini Fread also received achievement awards for performing at least five points higher than their individually set IB baseline.
The event also saw Marketing Communications Manager at Grand Hyatt Dubai, and ISB alumna and IB graduate of the Class of 2009 Nur ‘Ayeshah Ahmad sharing her experiences in the IB Diploma Programme and how it helped prepare her for success at university and careers in Switzerland, Portugal, London, Singapore and Dubai.
While the IB Diploma was challenging, she said, “The key skills you acquired in the IB will always be handy. Coupled with support from your loved ones, they play a vital role in your future success.”
The event concluded with closing remarks from ISB’s four 2020 scholarship recipients Hazwani Omar Ali, Ashley Ha, Valerie Tan and Felicia Kwa and a final farewell for the Year 13 students as they embark on tertiary education at universities worldwide including Melbourne University, University of Edinburgh, Trinity College Dublin, University of Manchester, University of Essex, Nanyang Technological University, University of California, Beijing International Studies University and University of British Columbia.
ISB Executive Principal Laura Thomas said, “We are incredibly proud of each and every one of our Year 13 graduates. They embody our ISB ethos alongside the IB Learner Profile. We are confident that they are well-prepared for the challenges they’ll face at university and beyond, and we look forward to seeing them again the future to hear stories of their global successes.”
The event was streamed live for graduates and their families who were unable to attend via the school’s official YouTube account.