City schoolboy bags Singapore scholarship

In an outstanding achievement, city lad Yash Shah, a student of class IX, Asia English School, has bagged a scholarship programme in Singapore. With this, Shah has become the only boy from Gujarat to have been awarded this scholarship. He will be leaving for Singapore on December 26, 2009.

Yash’s achievement comes as a surprise also because last year Yash’s sister, Nidhi Shah, had also been selected for a similar scholarship programme sponsored by the department of Education and Cultural Affairs, USA. She was one of the 40 scholars from India to have attained an academic year with full scholarship. “The fact that my sister went for a similar programme, did help,” admitted an excited Yash.

This prestigious programme spans 4 years, at the end of which Yash will receive the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education ‘Advanced’ (GCE ‘A’) Level (equivalent to STD 12) certificate. This means that he will be pursuing his studies from class IX to XII in Singapore.

Yash had been preparing for the scholarship programme for the past one and a half years and learnt about it from his school and newspaper. He believes that to achieve the scholarship one must perform well academically, have good command over English language and should easily adapt to changes or their surroundings.

This besides, he insisted that one must try to strike a balance between academics and extra curricular activities. Yash himself is a trained pianist from the Trinity College, London and Associated Board of Royal School of Music (ABRSN). He has been practising the instrument for the past six years along with preparing for several other exams.

“Normally, only students from Cambridge or IB Board are selected for this scholarship, and there are hardly any students from the state itself,” said Yash’s father while commenting on his son’s achievement. “I wish that awareness be created about this programme and students excel the same way as my son,” said his father with a sense of pride, adding that he would always support his son in his endeavours.

He further said that other children from the state must also apply for this programme and strive hard to achieve their goals. As for Yash, he believes one must never give up and advises students of his age to make the most of the opportunities they get.

What all will the scholarship cover
All travel cost, including the to and fro air fare and visa charges.
All tuition fees, lodging and boarding charges, exam fees
Settling-in allowance, medical benefits, accident insurance cover and monthly pocket money.