Yew Chung International Schools (YCIS) have earned a top honor from the University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).

On July 3, YCIS was presented with the "Cambridge Award for Excellence in Education"in recognition of their longstanding commitment to providing a world-class, global education.

Notably, they are the first and only school in China to receive this award.

The success of the YCIS programme is reflected by their students' results, which are top in their field. The awards are some of the most recent examples of the history of excellence at YCIS.

"This is a great honor for our students, staff, administrators and directorate, who have all worked very hard to achieve excellence within the IGCSE curriculum established by CIE," said Tom Ulmet, Superintendent for Yew Chung International Schools in China, who accepted the award on behalf of the schools and the Director, Dr. Betty Chan.

According to Ulmet, special certificates have been given for the past three years as a new type of regional honor by CIE. YCIS Shanghai and YCIS Beijing were joined last year by YCIS Chongqing and YCIS Qingdao in having Top of China (ToC) and/or Top of World (ToW) examination results.

"This year CIE are recognizing the bigger picture of performance outcomes, and YCIS China has certainly earned its place by having more ToC and ToW Awards than any other single group of schools in China. This is certainly an exceptional and outstanding result," Ulmet said.

All students in Years 10 and 11 (Key Stage 4) embark upon a two-year programme of study leading to the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examinations. These examinations form a bridge between Key Stage 3 and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme in Key Stage 5.

During the IGCSE years, the students' particular interests and strengths are focused across a variety of subjects.

These include the core subjects of English Language and Literature, Chinese Language, Mathematics and Science, and are complimented by optional subjects that range from Art and Design to History and Business Studies.

The examinations are taken at the end of Year 11.

Attending the afternoon ceremony were YCIS Administrators and Division Heads, and CIE representatives.

University of Cambridge International Examinations is the global leader in international standard qualifications for 5-19 year olds, and its IGCSE results are recognized by educational institutions worldwide.

The YCIS Network of schools includes campuses in Shanghai, Beijing, Qingdao and Chongqing, as well as Hong Kong and Silicon Valley, US.

The schools are unique learning environments and provide bilingual programmes that emphasize both English and Chinese language and culture.