深中三学生被校长推荐上北大

Wang Yuanyuan

Three Senior 3 students from Shenzhen Middle School (SMS) were recommended to Beijing University by their principal after winning an oral defense* competition at the school on November 10.

The students, Zhou Zhiqing, Lai Xin and Qian Pengyu, would be interviewed by the university and get 30 points in additional scores in the National College Entrance Examinations (NCEE), school principal Wang Zhanbao said.

“The three students are all very outstanding, winning many academic* awards and attending many social activities. High quality, a good academic background and responsibility are the main standards for us to select recommended students,” Wang said.

Students who were qualified* to apply should have a grade point average (GPA) as high as 4.5 or between 4.2 and 4.5 with outstanding achievements in other areas, Wang said.

A total of 25 students at the school applied and six entered the final round of selection — oral defense. Their GPAs were between 4.29 and 4.72. All of them had won one or more first prizes at national academic competitions and had participated in many social activities, such as teaching in rural areas as volunteers or doing research on social problems, Wang said.

More than 400 students, parents and media attended the oral defense competition and candidates had to answer several questions asked by judges, who were Wang, teachers, students, parents and education experts.

“Some of the questions were very sharp. Although they just had a few seconds to think about their answers, I think everyone did very well,” one of the student representatives, Zhang Yufan, said.

“The interview was not to examine their ability to give a speech or performance but to examine their strength, potential and influence on other students,” Wang said.

He also suggested the university improve standards and procedures* for enrollment* so that more outstanding students could enter the country’s top university.

“Last year, one of the recommended students, Chen Junlong, did not enter the university because his NCEE score was seven points less than the entrance score. But, in my opinion, he was a very outstanding student in all respects. So I think it is better to give 50 additional points instead of only 30, to those who are extremely talented,” Wang said.