Joanna Li has been ranked top student in the world by achieving a mark of 99 per cent in her International General Certificate of Secondary Education Chemistry examination with 99 per cent. This incredible achievement is a first for a student at St Paul’s Collegiate School.

IGCSE is a two-year programme leading to externally set and marked examinations from the University of Cambridge. Any student who takes an IGCSE subject, gains a qualification that is recognised globally.

St Paul’s offers students the opportunity to complete dual qualifications – NCEA and Cambridge International Examinations – depending on students’ academic ability and their career prerequisites.

“The significance of achieving the highest subject honour in an examination sat around the world cannot be overstated. Joanna's achievement is testament to her superior knowledge and diligence, and to the outstanding skill and dedication of her teacher, Ms Jane Spenceley,” says Jason McGrath, teacher in charge of Cambridge Examinations at St Paul’s.

In addition to her Chemistry result, Joanna gained an impressive 97.5 per cent average across all her Cambridge examinations.

Other St Paul’s students who chose the Cambridge programme in 2020 achieved an impressive 97 per cent overall pass rate. A record 28 per cent of the grades were higher than 90 per cent, and 51 per cent of all grades were higher than 80 per cent.

After a difficult year of a COVID-19 lockdown and learning through online lessons, it was pleasing to see these students achieving to such a high level.

During lockdown, St Paul’s kept the same structure as a normal school day teaching six online lessons each day via Google Meet.