While the summer holidays mark a well-deserved break after a tough academic year, they also give enterprising students a large window of time in which to develop themselves and to take part in a range of beneficial activities.

This summer, one group of students from SUIS Pudong Secondary certainly made the most of their holidays, by taking part in the international rounds of the World Scholar’s Cup. After a highly successful first round in Shanghai – in which all 24 participating SUIS Pudong students made it to the next stage – 20 intrepid students set out for Hanoi, Athens and Cape Town to pit their wits against leading students from around the world, in order to qualify for the prestigious Tournament of Champions at Yale University.

The competition was fierce, but the students did themselves proud in their essays, debating and quizzes, with over half of them earning enough points to make it through to the finals. All of the students won medals, and a number of them did exceptionally well; special credit goes to Alicia Wen, Elaine Huang and Elena Orihuela Sanz, who made it through to Yale despite being among the youngest participants in the Hanoi round, Rina Mitsutuka, who won medals in 10 of the 12 categories and, in particular, Katie Zhang, who received a trophy for the second highest overall score in the Cape Town round!

Many thanks to the parents who made these trips possible and of course Mr MacDonal and Ms Shen for their organisation and preparation.