Dubai: An Indian girl in Dubai has achieved the perfect 45 score in IB Diploma results received by her school on Wednesday night.
Sara Dube of Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS Dubai) was among the first International Baccalaureate students in the UAE to receive the final results of her IB Diploma Year 13. “I was really shocked to find out that I got 45. I didn’t think that I would actually get 45,” a jubilant Dube told Gulf News.
She also got an A grade in both her Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge.
“This feat was made more difficult by her choosing four Higher Level subjects, instead of the usual three, and completing her extended essay in a foreign language,” said Ian Thurston, deputy head of Key Stage 5 at JESS Dubai.
Planning is the key
Dube said she wrote the extended essay in French. “I love French. I was very much inspired by my French teacher in my previous school in Poland,” she said.
The topper said the secret to success lies in managing and planning the pupil’s time well.
“I will definitely recommend studying and revising throughout the two years. Also it is good to have a balance. We should make some time for family, friends and hobbies.
“I really like to play tennis. I was in the school tennis team in Warsaw. I also play piano,” said Dube who did her early schooling in Mumbai before going to Warsaw.
Her family came to Dubai only two years ago so that she could finish her IB here, her mother said.
Off to Oxford
Dube will now head to the University of Oxford to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics. “I wish to pursue law after that,” she said.
Kareem Kubeisy, who achieved 44 points, including Level 7 in all his six subjects, narrowly missed the third of the 3 “core points” by only one mark. He is bound for Columbia University in New York, along with two other JESS students.
Yesterday, almost 160,000 Diploma Programme (DP) students around the world received their results from the May 2017 examination session. Almost 2,000 students were expecting their results in the UAE.
Students in the UAE received an average diploma score of 31.59 points (of 45 possible maximum), according to a statement from IB.
Hardly one per cent of IB candidates achieve an IB 45 worldwide. There are about 50 IB schools in the UAE. However, not all of them had received the results by noon yesterday.
“The results will be sent to our pupils directly after 4pm. Since the school is closed for vacation, nobody would be available after 2pm,” said a staff member from Repton School.
The GEMS Education Group, which runs six IB schools in the UAE, said it will announce the results on Sunday.
Thurston said the school was able to assist its pupils with their results early because they could download the results from the IB website.
The school’s overall average of 35.3 continues to fly high above the world average of 30 points, a figure which 92 per cent of JESS students met or exceeded, it said in a press statement.
