Home-schooled Durban girl scores world’s highest marks for accounting and biology in Cambridge exam

A home-schooled Durban girl has achieved the highest marks in the world for accounting and biology in the Cambridge International examinations.

Cambridge International, which is part of the prestigious University of Cambridge in the UK, confirmed to TimesLIVE that Jade Reynolds achieved the highest marks in the world in the two subjects — 97% for accounting and 98% for biology — in the November 2021 examination.

It is a leading global qualification, recognised as a benchmark record of attainment by universities and employers worldwide, including in SA.

Reynolds obtained a 94% aggregate and completed a two-year syllabus for grades 11 and 12 in one year.

“It was no walk in the park as Cambridge is known for being one of the more challenging curricula,” she said.

“You can’t just learn the content for a Cambridge exam and expect to do well. Almost every question requires critical thinking and the application of knowledge to solve new problems not encountered before.

“The syllabus is complex and I covered an enormous range of topics in each subject, especially biology. I studied each of these topics in great depth.” 

Her mother Carol Reynolds said she didn’t go to a centre or home school community.

“She did everything herself, looked up and bought the necessary textbooks, downloaded and followed the syllabus outline for each subject and taught herself.

“Jade has always been a remarkable child, learning to string full sentences together before she turned one.”

The star pupil said: “I was lucky to find incredible private tutors in my area to assist me with questions on the content or exam technique. I saw each tutor for one hour every week.

“Getting top marks in the world for these two subjects doesn’t feel real yet. I wasn’t aiming for any sort of accolade. I worked extremely hard but all I wanted was an A for each subject.

“I didn’t even know there was an award. I just set my own goals and quietly went about trying to achieve them.

“The reason I decided on home schooling is because I placed so much pressure on myself in a traditional school where everyone knows your marks, so for me it was a stressful, highly competitive environment.

“I missed my friends and social life at school, including all the fun days and events, but at the time I made my decision, which was three-quarters into grade 10, I was an anxious child. I sacrificed the fun parts of school to improve my mental wellbeing, because I felt if I didn’t achieve anything less than perfect, I would beat myself up.”

Reynolds, who has a scholarship to study at the University of Cape Town, is working towards a bachelor of social science degree.

TimesLIVE