British Council Egypt and Pearson Edexcel were honoured to award their exceptional students at the annual Outstanding Pearson Learner Awards ceremony on Tuesday 27 February, at the British Embassy in Cairo in the presence of officials from the Ministries of Education and Higher Education. Co-hosted by John Casson, British Ambassador in Egypt, Jeff Streeter, Director of British Council in Egypt, and Ahmed Ismail, Pearson Egypt Director, the ceremony celebrated the academic achievements of secondary school learners of the 2017 Edexcel IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations series. Among the distinguished guests attended this event was Mr. Rod Bristow, President of Core Markets of Pearson. Proud parents and teachers from leading schools across Egypt were excited to witness their children and students being honoured as top achievers and receiving their awards as an acknowledgement of the hard work they have exerted in educational journey. Fifty nine awards have been presented to students across Egypt for exceptional performance in the Pearson Edexcel examinations, winning titles that include Highest Mark in Egypt, Highest Mark in Africa, Highest Mark in the World, and Highly Commended Student Award for international qualifications. Ambassador John Casson addressed the attendees saying “Egyptians and British people are passionate about food, Mohamed Salah and Education and today we honour 59 young Egyptians who have shown us that Mohamed Salah, Mohamed El- Shorbagy and Raneem El-Weleily are not the only world-beating Egyptians. Everywhere I go I meet Egyptian youth who are full of talent and potential. Britain is dedicated to give them our brilliant British education so that they succeed, and Egypt succeeds.” “Once again, I'd like to congratulate the many Egyptian students who have done outstandingly well in their Pearson Edexcel examinations. Pearson's exams represent a true international benchmark of quality and the results we are seeing are truly world class. As the British Council celebrates 80 years in Egypt, we are proud to have been working with partners like Pearson and the excellent schools in our network here to have developed the wonderful talent of young Egyptians. Based on this experience, it comes to us as no surprise that young people in Egypt can compete with the best in the world,” pointed Jeff Streeter. Travelled all the way from England to join the ceremony was Rod Bristow who was proud to say, “It is a tremendous privilege to be here today in a country that has high ambitions for education. We not only support education but also teachers, we celebrate the achievements and the fantastic results these students achieved out of great teaching by their teachers and support of their parents, which is a huge part of their success. This event highlights the impressive success of Egyptian learners, with 44 students being awarded an impressive 59 awards - including 14 in the “Highest Mark in the World” category. In addition, Egypt has ranked top of Africa in this year's International Advanced Level qualifications and second in International GCSEs.” He concluded his word saying, “One piece of advice, wherever you choose to do in life, choose something you love and have passion for. You will make some mistakes and face obstacles in your way to success, learn from these mistakes never give up and keep smiling.” ##
