PHNOM PENH: Eight outstanding Golden Gate American School students returned with 16 medals from the United Kingdom’s TeenEagle English competition held from July 30-August 6.

This is the second time GGAS Deputy Principal Ly Diamond has accompanied students to the competition and he is proud of their excellent results. "This is the second time we have led Golden Gate American students to a competition in London, The first time we had students go and get a lot of medals. For the second time, eight students participated, winning 16 gold medals and 1 trophy.”

This was Yam Sakara’s first time competing in the TeenEagle competition and despite not getting the results she wanted, was happy to make friends and gain experience. "During the competition I met a lot of news friend and it was very exciting. At the end, I kind of disappointed with my score but it was great. I got honourable mention, I pass but did not good enough. This is my first time."

Pises Sokhavimean and Lim Vattanac Vichea, who also participated in the TeenEagle competition, said that they had some worries and fears during the competition, but after the results and medals, they were happy. Vimean said, "At first I was pretty nervous but in the end I was exciting I made a lot of new friends it was fun. I got bronze and honourable mention and this is my first time."

GGAS student Khun Voreakreach who won two bronze medals, said that in addition to the opportunity to compete, he also got to learn about how different the lifestyles are between London and Cambodia.

This was Yem Sithisak’s first time in the competition and he was very happy with his bronze medals. "At first I was feeling very scared that I might fail, but when I came back it turned out that I actually won two bronze medals! So I feel happy that I won. This is actually my first time that I won! My first medal was bronze. When I got my medal I was relieved.”

First-time competitor Lim Monykuch was also afraid of failure, but managed to secure a silver medal and an honorable mention even with her shy and quiet demeanor.

Ly Diamond said that GGAS regularly enrolls students in competitions around the world to give them the opportunity to excel on an international stage as well as increase their global knowledge and empower them to participate with students from around the world.

Golden Gate American School was established in 1996 and evolved into a general education school in 2009, using an international curriculum to train Cambodian students. Since 2017, 231 GGAS students have gone abroad to compete in programs like the Pangea Math Olympiad, TeenEagle, the Copernicus Olympiad and the World Scholar's Cup.