The Summer 2004 examination results of CIFE students gave rise to a record 52 nominations for the Richard Smart Prize from our member colleges around the country. With one third of all A2 units having scores of 100% being the minimum performance required for nomination, the sixteen eventual prize winners are truly outstanding young academics. CIFE is also delighted that for the first time students with International Baccalaureate qualifications were nominated, with three of them being amongst the prize winners.

As well as remarkable overall performances students also produced exceptional results in individual subjects:

• One candidate achieved distinctions in the Advanced Extension Award for Mathematics, Physics and Economics
• One candidate achieved an AQA Top Five Award in both A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics
• Four students achieved a gold certificate in the UK Senior Maths Challenge
• One student achieved an AQA Top Five Award in Psychology
• Three students achieved AQA Top Five Awards in Statistics
• One student was AQA student of the year.

Within the winning group of sixteen Richard Smart prize winners were three students whose overall excellence allowed the CIFE Academic Affairs committee to exceptionally award them with joint Richard Smart Gold Medals. All three students studied at Cambridge Tutors College, and they were:

Chi Hieu Nguyen, who was awarded a Gold Medal by AQA and crowned its student of the year from amongst 330,000 examination entrants. The title was bestowed after being awarded four A-grades and scoring the best results in the country in his statistics examinations. This achievement is particularly remarkable as two years earlier Chi Hieu was working to support his family in Vietnam, with no thoughts or intentions of travelling to England to study, until he was offered a scholarship – a story often repeated throughout the ranks of CIFE colleges. Chi Hieu is now studying Economics at LSE where he has also been awarded a scholarship.

Viet Hung Tran gained full marks in six A2 units, Distinctions in Advanced Extension Award Economics, Physics and Mathematics, and grade S in STEP 2 and 3 papers. Viet Hung is now reading Economics at Girton College, Cambridge.

Junkan Wang gained full marks in fifteen A2 units, and grade S in STEP 2 and 3 papers. Junkan is now studying Engineering at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Winners of the other 2004 Richard Smart prizes for academic excellence were:

Gemma KARPUS of Albany College gained 100% in six units over her three A level subjects and was one of the top five candidates in AQA Psychology. Gemma is currently taking a gap year in Canada and on her return will read Psychology at York.
Asiya SULEIMAN of Bosworth College gained full marks in four A2 units across three of her A level subjects. Asiya is now studying medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. Asiya’s sister, Aisha, was a winner of the Richard Smart Prize last year, and is also studying medicine.
Chun HUA KHOO of Bosworth College achieved an AQA Top Five Award in both Mathematics and Further Mathematics as well as gaining full marks in four units over her three A level subjects. Chun Hua is now reading Actuarial Science at Southampton University.
Ahmed ISMAIL of Bosworth College received an AQA Top Five award in Mathematics, achieved full marks in all his A2 Economics units, and in a further five Mathematics units. Ahmed is currently studying Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics at Warwick.
Mark THOMPSON of Bosworth College gained four very high scoring A grades across History, English Literature, Geography and English Language. Mark is now reading Law at Jesus College, Cambridge.
Than Nam LE of Cambridge Tutors College gained full marks in four Edexcel A2 units and is currently studying Economics at LSE.
Lycia PARKER of Collingham scored 100% in 11 units over three A level and one AS subject. Lycia is taking a gap year and is currently teaching at a primary school in Santiago, Chile. She will read Psychology at Bristol from October 2005.
Ho Wei WEN of Concord College gained full marks in one third of A2 units over 4 full A levels. Ho Wei is now reading Economics and Management at Cambridge.
Lim Yi JIUN of Concord College gained 100% in seven A2 units over four subjects. Lim Yi is now reading Mathematics and Statistics at Oxford.
Ha TRAN of MPW London achieved full marks in six units across four subjects. One of these was Russian, not her native language, and studied over only one year. Ha is currently reading Law at Cambridge.
Sun Xiaonan of St. Clare’s, Oxford, gained 44 points in her International Baccalaureate examinations, achieving the top grade possible in all components of two subjects. Sun is now reading Mathematics at Oxford.
Oliver Nabarro of St. Clare’s, Oxford, gained 44 points in his International Baccalaureate examinations, with top grades in every component of two subjects. Oliver is now reading History at Warwick.
Alice Halliday of St. Clare’s, Oxford, gained 43 points in her International Baccalaureate examinations, with top grades in all components of her Higher Level Chemistry. Alice is now studying Biomedical Sciences at Manchester University.
CIFE congratulates all of the winning candidates, their Colleges and the tutors who all contributed to the continued extraordinary success of the students from our member Colleges. The Richard Smart prize was set up by CIFE to commemorate a former Principal of a CIFE member college. The prizes are sponsored by JWT Specialized Communications, a subsidiary of the international advertising agency, J Walter Thompson.

CIFE also recognises the achievements of the students of its member colleges in other ways. In recognition of achievements in Mathematics examinations CIFE awards annually the Andrew Osmond Mathematics Prize. This year awards have been made to the following five outstanding students:-

Leo Chung - Bosworth College
Andre Boo Shern Khoo - Cambridge Tutors College
Lisi Pan - Cambridge Tutors College
Jing Wen Zhao - Cambridge Tutors College
Liu Yang - Concord College

The Andrew Osmond Mathematics Prizes have been set up to commemorate a former principal of a CIFE member College. The prize is funded by a special contribution from each college who is a member of CIFE.

An additional sponsorship provided by JWT Specialized Communcations Limited takes the form of a JWT Bursary to a member college student whose presentation is regarded to be judged as the winning entry. This year the winner is Minh Vo of Cambridge Tutors College.

The prize awards are to be made at a ceremony to be held at the House of Lords by CIFE’s President, The Baroness Perry of Southwark, and Mr Martin Bojam, the Managing Director of JWT Education, on Thursday, 10 February 2005.

08/02/05

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