First A Level results in: Why GEMS Education’s Cambridge Board students have already been celebrating results for a week

Most of the British curriculum’s examination boards will be issuing their results from 11am UAE time today (17 August), but those students who took the Cambridge International board exams have already known their results for a week. The Cambridge International exam board is unique amongst British-curriculum exam boards in that it has traditionally released its A Level results one week earlier than all the other exam bodies.

GEMS Education was the first UAE school operator to release its Cambridge board A Level exam results, which encompassed a total of 926 candidates from nine of GEMS’ 13 British curriculum schools.

Among the success stories was Cambridge International School (CIS), which bucked many national and international trends with examiners warning of tougher marking this academic year with a 5 per cent rise in CIS students receiving an A* to B grade. CIS entered 203 candidates for the Cambridge A-levels, taking 491 subjects of which just under a third resulted in either an A* or A grade.

Cambridge International School

Stephen Brecken, Principal/CEO, GEMS Cambridge International School – Dubai told SchoolsCompared:

“I am delighted to see such a positive set of results achieved by our A-level students at GEMS Cambridge International School – Dubai in the 2023 Cambridge board examinations.

“Alongside our top achievers – with one student gaining four A* grades and an A, and two gaining four A*s – I was especially proud to see that 35 of our students achieved at least one A*, while 53 achieved at least one A grade. This demonstrates the outstanding level of academic success of students across the board and reflects our status as a High Performance Learning World Class School.

“Our school has a long-standing legacy of producing students who achieve wonderful results, and this is something which we continue to build upon year after year. The students demonstrate a high level of focus on their learning both in school and when undertaking study on their own. They are highly motivated and driven to do everything to achieve the results that will open the door to their top-choice universities and careers, where they will undoubtedly excel.”

 

Stephen Brecken, Cambridge International School Principal/ CEO

Another top performing school in the Cambridge A Level exams was WesGreen International School in Sharjah. The school, rated one of the most improved in the UAE during the recent school inspections, showed an increase of 29 top-rated A* results with 52 per cent of papers rated between A* and B grades.

Students Ismail Majid, 17, and Muhammad Zaidi, 18, both celebrated four perfect results at A*.

Principal James McDonald said:

“What a remarkable day for GEMS Wesgreen International School! Our students have demonstrated their academic excellence and skill in a wide range of subjects, from maths and physics to English and business studies.”

 

James McDonald, Principal, WesGreen International School Sharjah

So why have these GEMS students already known their A Level outcomes for a week? The Cambridge International exam board is the sister organisation to OCR – a leading British exam board – and its A Levels are specifically designed to suit the needs of an international student body. Cambridge International is an outlier amongst other British-curriculum exam boards in that it has traditionally released the results of its A Level exams – which tend to be taken only in international schools – one week earlier than all the other exam bodies. This has led some critics to complain that this gives Cambridge board exam students an unfair advantage when it comes to Clearing in UK universities – see our analysis here.

However, not all students do exclusively Cambridge board exams. While GEMS Our Own English High School – Al Ain, and The Winchester School – Jebel Ali only do Cambridge board A-levels, students from the other schools who have received their Cambridge exam results may still be awaiting results today from the exams they took with other exam boards.

Congratulations to all the GEMs students who have received their results so far, and good luck to everyone waiting for theirs today!

See our review of Cambridge International School (CIS) here.

See the Cambridge International School (CIS) website here.

See our review of WesGreen International School in Sharjah here.

See the WesGreen International School in Sharjah website here.

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