Nicole Adam, Ayush Rai ISS Cambridge high achievement awards recipients |14 October 2021
Ayush Rai and Nicole Adam proudly display their certificate
Ayush Rai and Nicole Adam, two students of the International School Seychelles, have been recognised and remitted with Cambridge high achievement awards certificates.
Rai and Adam, who both sat for A-Levels, achieved outstanding results in the November 2020 examinations. Rai scored the highest achievement award for Physics in Seychelles, while Adam secured the highest mark globally for Travel and Tourism.
The International School Seychelles (ISS) recognised and remitted the two outstanding students with their Cambridge high achievement awards certificates in brief ceremony held at the school yesterday morning.
Principal of ISS, Elodie Vallantine, in a short address conveyed pride on behalf of the school to both, who she said embody the school value of determination.
“For our school this is a recognition of the hard work on the part of our students, especially in this difficult climate with the pandemic. It is also recognition of the dedication and passion of our staff. They have been working tirelessly during the various lockdowns that we had, and in putting in place our very successful online provision enabling the students to get the best grades possible in their examinations,” said principal Vallantine.
She added that “it is a combination of the students’ hard work, the teachers’ hard work, but it is also the collaboration with home, making sure that we are working with parents, that we’ve got that regular communication with them. When a student is not performing at the level at which they should be, we have got that communication with parents so that we can get them to support us as a school to do the very best for our students”.
Rai admits that the physics course and exam preparations were quite intense, especially as he was following other classes at the time. He, however, would dedicate at least three hours a day to studying for the exams, along with his teacher John Ojal, who has been teaching the subject at ISS since January 2020.
“This gives me the reassurance that my choice for a career in physics is the right choice, because I always had some doubt that maybe it wasn’t the right direction, and now having received this award, I know I have chosen the right field. What is important when studying physics is to understand rather than try to memorise it all, as it is not as useful as having a grasp on the concepts,” Rai said.
For now, Rai is taking a gap year, but he intends to in future follow a Bachelor in Physics, or an Integrated Masters in Physics in the United Kingdom (UK).
For her part, Adam said the award is a great achievement as she thoroughly enjoys the subject, and will be pursuing higher level studies in travel and tourism.
“Here in Seychelles, one of the largest industries is tourism, so I thought to take up the subject. My parents also have a touristic establishment, so maybe in future I can take over that. I plan to go to university next year to pursue a degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management, and to bring the knowledge that I gain there back to the country,” Adam said.
Hughes Adam, father to Nicole, was very emotional in thanking the school, educators, his daughter and all who supported her throughout her studies.
“As with all of my children, she has been very close to me. We have always been a family who live by the value of discipline, and I think this is the result,” Mr Adam added.
Over recent years, the school has recorded an upward trend in terms of performance and in the Cambridge International examinations sat by students.
