PETALING JAYA: Fourteen students from Blue Wave Cambridge English Language Centre in Banting bagged 37 awards at the TeenEagle Global Finals UK2, which took place at Brunel University of London, UK from Aug 3 to 11.
TeenEagle is an English language competition that is designed to offer students from around the world the opportunity to showcase and test their skills in five key competitions – Persuasive Speaking, Writing Challenge, Knowledge Quiz, Spelling Bee, and Debate.
The centre’s principal and director Dr Devi Arumugam said the group of 14 returned home with 18 gold, 10 silver, and eight bronze medals, and an honourable mention, apart from two challenge trophies for overall best achievers.
“Two of our students also won trophies for the highest marks in their respective categories in the competition, which is accredited and certified by Brooke House College, one of the UK’s top educational institutions.
“A total of 250 students from 24 countries, including Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Iran, Cambodia, Pakistan, Brazil, Tunisia and several others participated in the competition and we are very proud that our students did so well,” Devi said.
She added the TeenEagle competition consisted of two stages – the Online Round and the Global Finals. Preparation for the Online Round took about four to five months.
“The two rounds combine to form the two phases of the international English competition. Partcipants aged eight to 18 can enter the TeenEagle Online Round, but they must score over 40% in this round to qualify for the Global Finals.”
Among the winning students were Form Two student Usheytha Rajendran, 14, from SMK Perempuan Methodist in Ipoh who won the Overall Champion 1st (Gold) TeenEagle Group 2 title.
Mahvendra Nava Murali, a Year Six pupil of SK Kampung Tunku, won the third place (Bronze) in TeenEagle Group 1, while Shaamlan Satthiya Seelan, a Year Six pupil of SK St Michael, Ipoh, won the first place in Debate.
Usheytha said going to London for the competition was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her as she made many friends along the way.
“I have improved my English language skills tremendously as I prepared for the competition. Even my writing, speaking and spelling skills have improved a few notches,” she said.
Usheytha said her resilience and motivation to do better had also improved and she has more confidence in attempting new things.
Mahvendra said his London trip for the competition was an exciting adventure as he had the opportunity to meet other competitors and teachers, and also made new friends from around the world.
“I learned a lot about different cultures from those I met, and didn’t imagine I would win so many medals and trophies in the competition. It’s a dream come true,” he said, adding that his wins boosted his confidence and made him love the English language even more.
Mahvendra attributed the most important qualities for his success to dedication, creativity, and resilience. He said the first two were crucial as the competition was tough.
“Creativity is also important, especially for the writing and debate challenges where we needed to think outside the box.”
Shaamlan said he was nervous during the competition but regained his composure as his friends and teachers were there to cheer him on and lend support.
“Everyone said I’m lucky to go to London to compete, but it’s my parents’ efforts too as they were the ones who made my trip possible.”
Devi added that it was the students’ hard work, commitment, and perseverance which made them succeed and stand out throughout the competition.
