A Pakistani girl has set a record by securing the top grade in 34 subjects at the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) level in London. The 16-year-old was felicitated by former Pakistan prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif in the UK capital earlier this week.
The GCSE is important because it is highly valued by schools, colleges, and employers, in the UK and many colleges and universities require a minimum of 5 GCSEs or above for admissions.
British-Pakistani student Mahnoor Cheema cleared the highest number of GCSE subjects ever taken by a student in the history of the European Union, media reports stated.
"It is always very uplifting to meet bright young minds like Mahnoor Cheema," Shehbaz Sharif said, congratulating the teenager on her achievement. "By securing A grade in a wide range of subjects from Maths and Astronomy to French and Latin, Mahnoor has not only made all of us proud but also set a great example for our children."
He added that success stories like Chhena's would inspire more Pakistanis to pursue their dreams. "During the past decade, I have come across a number of brilliant and resilient students—from Inam Ullah at the Danish School to Malala (Yousafzai) -- who are sources of great inspiration for students from different backgrounds," Sharif said.
The former prime ministers also gifted Cheema a MacBook Pro.
Malala Yousafzai also hosted a dinner for Cheema in London to celebrate her feat. The Nobel Peace Prize winner described the teenager as an inspiration to children in Pakistan and around the world. The women met after Cheema revealed that Yousafzai has been an inspiration to her since she was 7 and that she has Malala’s posters in her bedroom, Pakistan's The News International reported.
“This has been a surreal experience for me. Meeting Malala has been my childhood dream because she has been such an inspiration to me since I was very young," Cheema told The News. "As a Pakistani, she has become a pioneer for female education and she is working hard for the empowerment of young women. This is truly a dream come true for me."
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