In the recently concluded International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examinations for 2020, two students from Beaconhouse Sri Inai International School, Petaling Jaya achieved remarkable results as they scored the highest distinction with nothing less than straight A*’s (stars).
Both Yashodini A/P Andy Easwaren and Jun Rain Lim De Jin, two students among sixteen, scored straight A’s during the recent international level examination.
Yashodini is, of course, overjoyed by her performance in the IGCSE exams. “I have always excelled in my studies over the years, but this past year was truly challenging. The pandemic and having to study from home were completely new to me and certainly a difficult experience. I am just happy to have still performed well to make my family and school proud.”
Yashodini has been prolific in her achievements at all levels, including school, inter-school, district, national, and international levels. She racked up over thirty five award wins and distinctions across all levels in just three years. Highlights include a Gold Award at The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2019 and a Gold Award at the 2019 East Asia Maths Ninja Challenge.
Highlighted
The Cambridge IGCSE is an internationally-recognised exam that provides students with the opportunity to gain a prestigious international qualification. Last year, more than one million students participated in Cambridge International-based examinations from over ten thousand schools around the world, including the UK, the USA, China, India, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Jun Rain, the other top student says, “I am absolutely ecstatic to have scored straight A* (stars). While I have always been skilled in Maths and English, I was quite concerned about the other subjects. Thankfully, with the support of my parents and the guidance of my teachers at school, I managed to do great! I am looking forward to the next phase of my life and hope that these results set me on my path to a bright future.”
With their stellar performance, both Yashodini and Jun Rain are now in the running for potential top international recognition when the 2021 Outstanding Cambridge Learners Awards are announced in March. If they clinch distinctions during the upcoming Awards, they will join a growing string of Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards achievers from the school in the past several years.
This includes Teng Yee Shean and Hassan Bin Azhar who were both crowned Top in Malaysia by Cambridge Assessment International Education for Business Studies and Geography respectively in 2020. In 2019, Andrew Nge Jing Shuen clinched the coveted Top in the World award for Mathematics and Additional Mathematics. In 2018, alumnus Bryan Chow Wei Ming was crowned Top in the World for Mathematics, whilst Sneha Sherchan was named Top in Malaysia for Global Perspectives.
Motherhood takes a moment to get to know Yashodini and Jun Rain and to learn how they managed to score so well in the IGCSE exams
Yashodini ─ 9A* in the IGCSE Exams 2020
1. Motherhood: Hi, Yashodini. Congratulations on coming out on top at the recent IGCSE 2020 examinations. When were they held and how many subjects did you take? Can you name all the subjects you took? How was the exam conducted?
Yashodini: My IGCSE was held during October/November 2020 and I took eight subjects in the October/November series and one subject in the May/June series. The subjects I took were English, Malay, Maths, Add Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Economics, and Global Perspectives. The exams were conducted under strict SOP’s, where we had to wear masks throughout the exam and come to school only for the allocated exam times.
2. Motherhood: What does scoring A* mean? What is the difference between A and A*?
Yashodini: To me personally, it is the epitome of satisfaction; a great reward for my hard work. Scoring A* is one step higher than scoring an A. To score an A*, you need to really understand the subject fully, remember even the smallest details, and be able answer the hardest questions.
3. Motherhood: How old are you? What are your hobbies and other interests apart from academic studies?
Yashodini: I am turning seventeen this year. My hobbies include running and exercising in my free time. I also enjoy playing the drums and listening to music. I like reading non-fiction books in the topics of psychology, economics, and physics, as well as listening to podcasts.
4. Motherhood: What are your favourite subjects? We read about your thirty five awards over the years and your latest ones in 2019 for essay writing and maths. What inspired you and spurred you on? What else do you excel in? Music? Debate? Arts? Sports?
Yashodini: My favourite subjects are Physics, Chemistry, and Add Maths, as they are the most interesting to me. Economics and Global Perspectives come in close second because of the way they shed light on a different viewpoint of the world.
I am proud of my accomplishments. I was inspired to take on these competitions with the motivation and support of my teachers, and I do consider myself to be quite competitive.
For me it is not just writing and Maths, I love being athletic, too. I have taken part in many track and field competitions during school and also, I have performed for our school play, Mamma Mia.
5. Motherhood: How would you describe yourself as a person?
Yashodini: I am a self-motivated individual who is always seeking new experiences. I like trying out different things and making the most of my opportunities. On top of that, thanks to my teachers, I believe very strongly in a growth mindset. I am pretty extroverted, too and love meeting new people.
6. Motherhood: Can you tell us your study style? How many hours a day do you put aside to study? How do you study? Do you put on music? Do you read out loud?
Yashodini: I do not exactly put time aside to study, but I try to make sure I understand everything that is taught the same day that it is taught. I try to get all my homework done and if I feel like I am not very good at the topic yet, I will try to work on it more.
For me, it works better when I focus on studying only when I truly feel like it rather than scheduling times – that makes it feel more like a chore.
I study mostly through active recall or sometimes by teaching/learning from my peers. When I study alone, I always listen to music and I take constant breaks – studying in productive bursts rather than three to four hours at a go.
7. Motherhood: What is the attitude towards studying that you must have, in order to understand, retain, and apply the information that you are learning?
Yashodini: My attitude towards studying is that, at the end of the day, it is for my own success and that is what motivates me to put in the effort, even when I am tired. My parents also do not force me to study, and they do not pressure me for excellent grades, but because I am interested in the subjects I have chosen, I put more effort into understanding and learning them.
8. Motherhood: You mentioned being overjoyed by your performance in the IGCSE exams despite having to overcome the new experience of studying from home because of the pandemic. What difficulties did you face when studying online? How long did they go on and how did you overcome the difficulties? How did your parents and teachers play a role in helping you adapt?
Yashodini: The biggest difficulty during online learning was to stay motivated. It required a lot of self-discipline to listen to what my teachers were saying in class. After about a month of online learning, I realised I had not exactly registered half of what my teachers were teaching. During that time, after school period ended, I would rush to finish my homework and was very unproductive for the rest of the day.
After that, through a lot of self-discipline and a little help from my teachers, I got back into my routine. I started exercising again, which helped me sleep better, which in-turn helped me focus better during classes.
My teachers were very patient with all of us, even when the quality of our work was not the best and we were not responding in class. Our teachers helped greatly despite also being new to online teaching, where they would even spend their own time after work hours to help us with our work and give us extra classes.
My parents supported me the entire way and gave me enough space when I needed it, but they were also always there when I just needed someone to talk to.
9. Motherhood: What would clinching the 2021 Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards mean to you?
Yashodini: It would mean the world to me, especially since I struggled a lot last year during online learning.
10. Motherhood: What is your next goal in your studies and what are your thoughts for your future?
Yashodini: Currently, I am enrolled for the Cambridge A-Levels programme, where I am doing Physics, Chemistry, Further Maths, and Maths. I plan to go into engineering after that. I believe doing well in the IGCSE exams has given me a good base for my future and was a good stepping stone, but I still have a long way to go for my future and I am willing and ready to put in the effort for a successful future!
Jun Rain ─ 8A* in the IGCSE Exams 2020
1. Motherhood: Hi, Jun Rain. Congratulations on coming out on top at the recent IGCSE 2020 examinations. You said, “I am absolutely ecstatic to have scored straight A stars. While I have always been skilled in Maths and English, I was quite concerned about the other subjects…” Why were you concerned about your other subjects?
Jun Rain: Thanks. I was mostly concerned about Physics and Accounting, which I struggled the most with. I was pleasantly surprised with my Accounting result (I guess everyone else struggled, too). My Physics scores were also far from perfect. I remember hearing my friends discuss questions I did not remember answering; leading me to believe I had somehow left some questions blank. But in the end, I am glad it all worked out.
2. Motherhood: How many subjects did you take? Can you name all the subjects you took? Which ones did you find to be the most enjoyable and why?
Jun Rain: My initial choice of subjects was English, Maths, Add Maths, Physics, ICT, Economics, Accounting, Art, and Malay, but I dropped Art in my second year after deciding it was not quite for me. Instead, I opted for a second Add Maths block instead. Having Add Maths every day paid off in the end. Out of all the subjects, I enjoyed ICT the most. I just like computers and I had the opportunity to experiment on computers and computer software were rife at school.
3. Motherhood: How old are you? What are your hobbies and other interests apart from academic studies? Why do you like these hobbies/activities?
Jun Rain: I am turning eighteen in March. My hobbies include origami, video games, and reading comics. Origami in particular is a great way to pass time whenever I feel bored. All I needed was a pair of hands and a paper square, of which there was no shortage; I keep an ample supply with me at all times.
4. Motherhood: What do you find fascinating about English and Maths? Why are these your favourite subjects?
Jun Rain: English was a rare opportunity to express creativity in writing, and while Maths may seem like the opposite, they are more similar than you may think. Problem-solving questions in Maths are my favourite because they really make you think of past formulas and raw calculations. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to hone my skills on both fronts.
5. Motherhood: Can you tell us your study style? How many hours a day do you put aside to study? How do you study? With the music on? Or when the house is quiet?
Jun Rain: I do not really study that much, especially compared to some of my more hard-working friends, but when I do, quick bursts of studying worked best. Two-hour sessions were my limit. I listened to quite a lot of music while studying, to the point where I would associate certain songs or albums with certain subjects.
6. Motherhood: What is the attitude towards studying that you must have, in order to understand, retain, and apply the information that you are learning?
Jun Rain: This may sound like a cliché, but what I have come to learn after years at school is that the more effective way of studying is by truly understanding something rather than just memorising it. Rather than forcefully remembering a formula or concept, try to understand it from the ground level, and why it is the way it is. That way, you will not forget it, and applying it becomes much easier.
7. Motherhood: Did you face difficulties when studying online? How did you overcome these difficulties? How did your parents and teachers play a role in helping you adapt?
Jun Rain: Since the nationwide lockdown, classes transitioned online, which I adapted to fairly quickly and painlessly – in part, I owe my thanks to my teachers at school. If anything, with the need to transit gone, I could wake up almost an hour later than usual, which was a huge bonus! I do have to thank my mum for cooking lunch (and usually dinner) every day, though. I imagine she would have preferred it that I have lunch at school.
8. Motherhood: What would clinching the 2021 Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards mean to you?
Jun Rain: To be honest, I did not find out about the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards until rather recently, but the idea of receiving it is very exciting to me. It is always nice to have reminders of our successes. It would motivate me to work harder in college; that is for sure!
9. Motherhood: Do you or your parents have any tips to share with other students on how to do well in school, especially for subjects that they are not so confident in? What sort of guidance and support did your parents and teachers give you?
Jun Rain: Find friends who have similar subject choices as you, or even better, find friends who excel at the subjects you are weak at, and struggle at subjects you are strong at.
Teaching others is a great way to refresh your own knowledge, and peer discussion really helped me in the more abstract subjects. That is an approach that I picked up – thanks to all my teachers.
10. Motherhood: What is your next goal in your studies and what are your thoughts for your future?
Jun Rain: I am currently in college, and I plan to study Computer Science or other IT related fields in the future. I figured it would be a safe choice for an upcoming Generation Z worker, although something tells me there are a lot of others like me. In any case, I am hoping to replicate my success this year, though I expect it to only get tougher from here.
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