Sunway College’s largest A-level Tea Party

Sunway College’s A-level Tea Party has become a biannual event as its students have been constantly achieving straight As in almost every Cambridge A-level examinations in recent years. In the November 2014 Cambridge A-level examinations, students achieved a 100 percent pass rate with 64 percent obtaining straight As, making the recently held tea party substantially the largest celebration so far with 200 straight As high achievers.

Among those present were the 35 Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards (OCLA) winners for their excellent performance in the June 2014 Cambridge examination series. 30 of them received Top in the World, 4 Top in Malaysia and 1 Best across Three Cambridge International A-levels Awards.

The audience was treated to performance by A-level students and lecturers singing and dancing to a newly composed song on Sunway College’s A-level

Many of these students have received offers and secured places in some of the top universities in the world. Ng Chien Xen, Tan Ze Khai, Cheah Jun Siang, Danial Syafiq, Ler Song Lim, Wong Eu Jin and Thye Chuan Hwei have received offers from Cambridge while How Si Yu from Oxford. Aside from Ng and Tan who completed the entire A-level programme, the rest achieved straight As in AS level and they are preparing for their upcoming A2 examinations.

From left: Lim Hoi Sin (father), Lim Jin Chyuan and How Geok Chin (mother)

Danial hopes his consistency at studying hard will help maintain or improve his performance in the A2 exams with Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics for him to be one step closer to the UK. Besides Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, Danial has also received offers to study medicine at Imperial College and Kings College. He shared his experience of applications and interviews with the top universities which were mainly arranged during the AS examinations period. “I think they want to make sure that we are able to apply what we’ve learnt from our subjects immediately into use at anywhere and anytime. I was having Mathematics paper before I went to the interview with Cambridge. And I think Sunway College has prepared us well in this by developing our interest in our studies and making sure that we understand and master the subjects,” said Danial who was also the president of A Level Student Council.

From left: Lee Lai Yoke (mother), Tan Ze Kai, Tan Nge Seng (father) and Kingsley Row, Senior Lecturer, A-level, Sunway College

Ng who completed Further Mathematics, Mathematics, Economics and Physics with straight A*, secured a place to study Economics at Homerton College, Cambridge. Articulate and cheerful, the young aspiring economist, who aspires to help abate world poverty was president of the debating club at Sunway with much experience in intervarsity debate competitions throughout his A-level. He was grateful to have chosen the right pre-university programme with the right college. “I chose Sunway because of its safe and conducive learning environment and its strong records of producing good A-level results. Sunway College A level is academically rigorous and challenging, it really pushes one to work hard with intense workload and friends with similar interests (to get good results into top universities) which create the encouraging competitive study environment,” said Ng.

From left: Wong Eu Jin, How Si Yu, Thye Chuan Hwei, Ler Song Lim, Cheah Jun Siang, Ng Chien Xen, Danial Syafiq

Tan who gained straight A* in the subject of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics, intends to continue Chemical Engineering but is keeping his university options open as he received offers from Imperial College London, University College London, Manchester, Nottingham, and potentially Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) besides Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Throughout his A-level, he was also active in International Chemistry Olympiad 2014 and he was grateful for his classmates and lecturers, particularly his mentor, Kingsley Row, Senior Lecturer teaching A-level Physics for their support in providing notes and video recording of his missing classes during the competition. “The A-level mentor-mentee system is great where every A-level student is assigned a mentor who are approachable and who will welcome our questions during and after classes. My mentor, Kingsley was also my referee in all my university applications,” said Tan.

The celebration also saw many proud parents sharing their children’s joy. Lim Hoi Sin and How Geok Chin, parents of Lim Jin Chyuan, who scored straight A*s in Physics, Chemistry, Economics and Mathematics, were pleased to have entrusted his son with Sunway. “Not only my son was hardworking, the lecturers too were diligent as they gave all rounded support to my son, which I believe are key factors to his great results,” said How.

This A-level Tea Party was even more special with the creative singing and dance performance to a newly composed song on the College’s A-level programme by the A-level students and lecturers. Ng Kim Huat, Senior Schools Development Manager, Cambridge International Examinations was in attendance together with Dr Elizabeth Lee, Senior Executive Director, Sunway University and Sunway Education Group, Dr Khatijah Khalid, Group Registrar, Sunway Education Group; Cheng Mien Wee, Executive Director of Sunway International School and Director of Pre-University Studies, and Carol Wong, Director of A-level.