During the 2020 pandemic students have faced numerous unforeseen challenges with the introduction of online learning and repeated changes in the assessment criteria for many international exams. At the beginning of the school year, the much-awaited IB, A Level and IGCSE results were finally released.

There is good news from YCIS Hong Kong, YCIS Shanghai, YCIS Beijing, YCIS Chongqing, YCIS Qingdao, YWIES Shanghai Lingang, YWIES Shanghai Gubei, YWIES Guangzhou, YWIES Yantai and YWIES Tongxiang. (YWIES Beijing has no Secondary graduates.)

We are pleased to announce that in more than 50 percent of the IGCSE exams in these schools, students were awarded either an A* or an A. One student bagged as many as 11 A* grade marks; 25 students achieved 10 A* or A grades; 18 students achieved nine A* or A grades; 26 students achieved eight A* or A grades.

For the YCIS IB Diploma Programme, the overall passing rate reached 98.5 percent and the average mark was above 35 (higher than the world’s average mark by five with the maximum marks being 45). Forty students scored 40 or above and four of them – Christy Yuen and Isabella Yao from YCIS Hong Kong and McDonald Seonaid Alyssa Faith and Shu Min Tan from YCIS Shanghai – achieved a perfect score.

From our YWIES A Level Programme, three students received a perfect A* or A grade in four subjects and 15 students had the excellent results in AS Level exams.

At YCIS, over 62 percent of the students earned an IB bilingual diploma, which shows the students have bilingual ability and cross-cultural understanding – essential skills in a globalised society.

Every school has made progress. Compared to last year, the number of students achieving 40 points or above in the IB exams increased by 25 percent and 14 percent respectively at YCIS Shanghai Pudong and YCIS Shanghai Puxi. There is a seven percent increase in the number for YCIS Hong Kong. YWIES Guangzhou saw a 17 percent increase in A* and A grades in the A Level exams while there was a 37 percent increase for YWIES Yantai in the AS Level exams and 30 percent for YWIES Shanghai Lingang.

Despite the pandemic disruptions our schools were able to achieve outstanding results. This underscores the calm state of mind and flexibility of students at Yew Chung and Yew Wah, the result of the close cooperation between the schools, teachers, students, and parents. Qualities nurtured during these difficult times will become useful and powerful tools for children as they tackle the future.

As Hayley Edge, IGCSE Co-ordinator of YCIS Beijing says, while academic achievement is important to all the teachers at Yew Chung and Yew Wah, the focus is always on student well-being and character formation.

Yew Chung and Yew Wah subscribe to a holistic learning philosophy that encourages students to regard academic achievement as an important self-improvement challenge. The schools believe each student has his or her own starting point and therefore individual effort and progress is a fundamental assessment marker.