在最近进行的国际剑桥科目考试（Cambridge International Exams）当中，两名新西兰的学生成绩名列世界前茅。他们是 Arkesh Patel 和William Zhang。

Arkesh今年16岁。他在历史、生物以及化学当中取得了第一名，同时在新西兰学生当中取得了英语第一名。William 在数学和综合科学的考试中夺得了第一。他们两人都在新西兰的11年级学习，相当于中国的高中一年级。

Arkesh 在新西兰西湖男校（Westlake Boys High School ）学习，William是奥克兰语法学校（Auckland Grammar School）的学生。两所学校都位于新西兰最大的城市奥克兰。

国际剑桥科目考试在许多国家进行，包括英国、欧洲的其他国家、美国、加拿大以及澳大利亚，是世界认可的综合科目考试。

新西兰驻华使馆教育参赞韩尚毅先生说，“两位学生的好成绩更进一步说明了新西兰教育质量的国际领先水平，尤其是对新西兰的小班教学方式以及个人化学习的肯定。”

另外值得一提的是，在世界经合组织对其41个成员国的15岁学生进行的测试报告（Programme for International Student Assessment，PISA）中，新西兰学生一向名列前茅。PISA 2003的报告显示，在阅读能力、数学、科学和解决问题的能力四个方面，新西兰学生的水平明显高于世界经合组织成员国的学生的平均水平。在以上四个领域，新西兰的学生与澳大利亚、加拿大等国家的学生具有同样的水平。

与其他许多新西兰的学生一样，Arkesh不仅仅学习成绩优秀，还拥有丰富的课余生活。他在学校是辩论小组的成员，还打网球和篮球。“对于学生来说，能够掌握课内和课外生活的平衡不仅是健康的体现，而且也是当今社会许多雇主愈加看重的条件，”韩尚毅先生总结说。

滴答网在此感谢新西兰驻华使馆提供稿件

New Zealand students on top of the world

Two New Zealand teenagers, Arkesh Patel and William Zhang, topped the world in a number of University of Cambridge International exam subjects.

Arkesh, 16, got the highest marks in Year 11 history, biology and chemistry, as well as coming first equal locally for English. William came first in maths and combined science at the Year 11 level. 

Arkesh attends Westlake Boys High School and William attends Auckland Grammar School. Both schools are in Auckland, New Zealand.

The exams are offered in many countries including Britain, Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia.

John Morris, the Association of Cambridge Schools in New Zealand’s board chairman said the results were fantastic. “We should be extremely proud of these students who have shown they can compete with the rest of the world and come out tops.”

According to Mr Hamish Forsyth, Education Counsellor in the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing, “These results further emphasise the high quality of New Zealand’s education system, which emphasises small classes and personalised learning”.

New Zealand consistently ranks highly in the OECD report on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA is an international study of 15-year-old students in 41 countries.

PISA 2003 assessed students in reading, mathematics, science and problem solving. New Zealand students performed significantly above OECD averages and on a par with students in countries like Australia and Canada for all four achievement areas.

Like many students educated in New Zealand, Arkesh achieves academically but also manages a balanced life; playing tennis, basketball, and debating.  “A life balancing academic achievement with extra-curricular activity is not only healthy, but something employers are increasingly looking for in today’s competitive job market,” Mr Forsyth concluded.