NAMES of 10 students who made it through a gruelling selection process to land Bahrain’s most prestigious education scholarship have been announced.
They were chosen from among 400 applicants for the 2018 Crown Prince’s International Scholarship Programme (CPISP).
The scholarship recipients were congratulated in person at Riffa Palace yesterday by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier.
Only the most exceptional applicants are chosen for the scheme, which funds the higher education of outstanding Bahraini students at top universities and institutions around the world.
The successful candidates this year are Faisal Fakhro (Bahrain School), Fares Hasan (Thomas A Edison High School, US), Zain Al Sakhi (Bahrain Bayan School), Ghada Al Shehabi (St Christopher’s School), Abdullah Ahmedi and Jasam Ali (Al Hidaya Al Khalifiya Secondary Boys School), Mahmood Al Madeh (Sheikh Abdulaziz Secondary Boys School), Alia Abdullah (Ghazi Al Qosaibi Secondary Girls School), Kawthar Al Noaimi (Omaima Bint Al Noaman Secondary Girls School) and Zainab Naser (Al Wafa Secondary Girls School).
Plans
They represent the 19th batch of scholarship recipients and one of them, Kawthar Al Noaimi, said she planned to use the opportunity to follow in her father’s footsteps.
“I want to study in the UK and be a chemical engineer like my father,” she said.
“I was so shocked when I received the news that I had received the scholarship.”
Another recipient, Mahmood Al Madeh, dedicated his scholarship to his late grandfather, who encouraged him to apply.
“I wasn’t really interested in the programme up until early last year when my grandpa told me about it,” he said, adding that his ambition was to start his own business.
“He was like: ‘Sign up, you’re not going to lose anything.’
“I did, but I did not expect to win. I actually did somehow and it is all thanks to him.
“I’d like to thank my grandpa for the encouragement he gave me because, without him, I’m pretty sure I would not have applied.”
Scholarship applicants must have a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 97 per cent or above for both grade 10 semesters and the first semester of grade 11 to be eligible.
Those who meet the criteria then take qualifying tests for English proficiency and critical thinking, such as SATS, ILETS and CMI exams.
Eighty students are then shortlisted and undergo training in topics such as leadership and academic writing skills before the final selection, which sees five male and five female applicants chosen based on their overall performance.
Members of the CPISP board include former scholar Naser Almohri, who was among the first batch of successful recipients in 2000.
“The programme is very unique,” he said.
“It is one of a kind in the world because it has the direct support of His Highness the Crown Prince.”
He encouraged the latest scholarship recipients to make the most of the opportunity they had been afforded.
“They are very lucky to get this opportunity,” he said.
“They just need to make the most out of it and take advantage of the merits they get out of this programme.”
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