It was a busy close to 2016. Cambridge International Examinations was the cover feature in the October edition of Education World, an Indian education monthly which circulates widely in private schools. The article is an interesting perspective of our growth in India, as seen through an Indian journalist's eyes.
Towards the end of the year, in South Africa, I was lucky to have the chance to climb Cape Town's Table Mountain with our Regional Director Juan Visser. Beautiful summer weather but a strong wind closed the cable car, so only those prepared to hike and scramble two hours up and two hours down made it to the summit that day. We were rewarded with clear views across two oceans and the southern tip of the African continent. I learnt that Table Mountain contains more plant species than the whole of the UK. It’s definitely worth the hike if you have time on your next visit. Seeing the changing plants and views as you ascend is an unforgettable experience. A wonder of the natural world. We went up the India Venster route, which is borderline rock-climbing in places - there are some fixed chains and foot/hand holds in the rock face. We came down the less demanding Platteklip Gorge route, still very steep but walkable all the way.
Out in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the temperature outside was minus 29c. Claudia Bickford Smith and I went to the Ministry of Education three times in one day, each trip involving a chilly but fortunately short walk through the icy streets. Since I was last there a year ago, the city authorities have installed some nice public sculpture. (pictured above)
Following the signing of our associate agreement with Fazheng Group/Beijing Royal School, I attended a ceremony in Beijing to welcome the first associate school to join us under this agreement, Huiwen School in Chengdu. The school will initially offer Cambridge Primary and Secondary 1, then later establish a senior school offering IGCSE and Cambridge International A Level. What was exciting was the large number of other schools from all over China represented at the event, all of which are waiting in line to apply to join Cambridge. Rod Smith, MD of Cambridge University Press Education (CUP), joined me at the event and spoke about CUP resources. Here we are (above) sharing a joke with Chairman of Fazheng Group and Principal of Beijing Royal School, Mr Wang Guangfa.
Michael O'Sullivan
Chief Executive, Cambridge International Examinations