Two Semiahmoo Secondary students are among 32 Canadians vying for one of four full-entrance scholarships to the University of Cambridge.
Pradeep Venkatesh and Tristan Downing are finalists for the $150,000 Blyth Campbridge Commonwealth Trust Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to students who have demonstrated academic excellence, intellectual depth, personal integrity and success beyond their school studies.
Both Venkatesh, 16, and Downing, 17, are students in Semiahmoo’s International Baccalaureate program. The program provides students with the opportunity to earn university credits towards admission to an institution of their choice through an accelerated curriculum.
To qualify for the scholarship, the students had to submit a list of their academic achievements, provide three letters of recommendation from teachers and a community member and write a 1,000-word essay exploring the discipline they wish to study.
On Monday, Venkatesh and Downing will fly to Toronto to interview with the scholarship selection committee. Shortly after, they will find out if they have received the scholarship.
Two of Semiahmoo’s recent alumni are currently studying at Cambridge, while another is studying at Oxford.