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Girls outperform boys in Cambridge exams
IGCSE’s top three, Melody Kukundakwe Twesigye, Crown-Him Awadilo and Reanna Amiya Adubango at the release of the Cambridge examinations. PHOTO | OWEN WAGABAZA
What you need to know:
- Students performed well in sciences, economics, ICT, and social sciences in general while girls outperformed their male counterparts’ mainly in sciences and social sciences.
The Cambridge International Examination results were released last week with Ugandan students registering impressive performances.
Unlike UNEB which releases one set at ago, both the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (O-levels) and the General Certificate of Education (A-levels) were released.
In Uganda, the Cambridge examinations are done with the help of the British Council.
“Its main responsibility is to ensure that the examinations are done in the right environment and do not in any way divulge details of various schools officially,” says Peter Omedi, a consultant on foreign curriculums in Uganda.
The Cambridge curriculum is currently offered by up to 10 schools in Uganda with the most notable being Vienna College Namugongo, Kabojja International School, Aga Khan High School, International School of Uganda, Kampala International School Uganda, Galaxy International School, Rainbow, Acons, Heritage, Taibah school among others.
At Vienna College Namugongo, the largest Cambridge Centre in the country, Twesigye Melody Kukundakwe, Awadilo Crown-Him and Adubango Reanna Amiya topped the IGCSE class by earning over six A-stars with a score of over 90 percent while upto 20 students scored over three A-stars and multiple As each. In GCE AS (A-levels), Marion Bernice Najjuma and Benjamin Twesigye Rutahaba topped the class with three A-stars in BCM and PCM respectively, while up to 12 students scored triple As in their various combinations.
At Kabojja Junior School, John Mark Obura and Nareeba Kirabo Wilmar topped the CGE class with triple A-stars in PCB and BCM respectively while in IGCSE, Samalie Nabuuma Musisi and Merveille Kalemera topped their class by scoring over five A-stars. Other schools offering the Cambridge curriculum remained tight lipped on sharing their examination results.
Girls outperform boys
Students performed well in sciences, economics, ICT, and social sciences in general while girls outperformed their male counterparts’ mainly in sciences and social sciences.
Overall, girls out performed boys in both IGCSE and GCE. Notably, at IGCSE, all the three top students in the 2024 Cambridge examinations were girls.
Mr Mohammed Kakiika, the Principal of Vienna College Namugongo attributes this to the multi-tasking abilities that females have, coupled with the determination to achieve their aspirations.
“I am grateful to God, my parents, and my school for helping me succeed. God heard my prayers and rewarded my efforts,” said Bernice Najjuma.
Kukundakwe, the best student in IGCSE attributed her success to hard work, prayers, self-motivation, and the constant support she received from both her teachers and parents.
Rutahaba, the second-best student at GCE attributed his success to prayers, hard work, and the school’s conducive environment.
At the same event, Mohammed Kakiika hailed the Uganda government for adopting the Cambridge assessment and grading of students in the improved National school’s curriculum.
“The grading in the new curriculum meets the international standard of grading and assessment of students and this is a positive step towards improving Uganda’s education,” says Kakiika.
The new approach which will be based on AAs is similar to the Cambridge assessments rather than the grading in divisions that was being used before.
Kakiika further highlighted the new curriculum’s focus on skills development and its relevance to addressing contemporary unemployment issues.
“An engineering degree within this curriculum equips students to manage the business aspects of their profession,” says Kakiika.
About Cambridge examinations
Several international schools in the country offer Cambridge International Examinations with Vienna College Namugongo having the biggest number of students enrolled for the curriculum. In the recently released results, 114 students sat for the IGCSE while 140 sat for the GCE exams.
The British Council is one of the regulators, mandated to conduct these examinations. They offer CIE examination services to both independent candidates and to schools and private colleges that are registered for the examinations. Cambridge International examinations are recognized internationally, helping scholars access both overseas and local higher education opportunities.
Mr. George Musiime, the Dean of Studies at Vienna College Namugongo says CIE is internationally recognized hence opening doors to lots of opportunities. “If you do Cambridge exams, you are eligible for admission to all the elite universities around the world such as Harvard, MIT, Cambridge, and Oxford among others,” says Musiime.
“The curriculum offers many benefits to learners as it is designed to make them confident, responsible, reflective, innovative, and engaged. It gives learners a solid foundation for achieving high levels of academic and personal attainment.”
The curriculum is also reviewed every two years making it more up-to-date with the issues of the time, and unknown to many, students who offer Cambridge examinations are also admitted on merit to both private and public universities in Uganda and can even qualify for government sponsorship in public universities in Uganda.
