A photography portfolio scoring 154 out of 180 and an art submission reaching 168 out of 180 were among the standout marks that carried Jyllian Kadee Bognot Guzman to one of the strongest GCSE performances at Brighton College Dubai this year. The 16-year-old Filipina earned eight Grade 9 marks, the top tier in Britain’s GCSE structure, alongside a Grade 7 in Mathematics.
Those top grades stretched across an unusually wide academic range: Science, where the Double Award counts as two results, plus Business, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Art, Craft & Design, and Art & Design: Photography. The spread was something Jyllian valued as much as the grades themselves.
“What I like about my results overall is that they are across very different subjects. I didn’t want to be good at just one thing,” she said, adding that her creative work held special meaning. “I’ve always enjoyed being creative, so I’m very proud of my Art and Photography results.”
The English results stood out for a particular reason. Tagalog is Jyllian’s first language, yet she reached the maximum grade in both English Language and English Literature within a British curriculum.
“Getting Grade 9s in both English Language and English Literature means a lot to me,” she said. “Tagalog is my native language, so to achieve the highest possible grade in both English subjects is something I’m especially proud of.”
Opening the results brought an emotional moment. “I was overwhelmed when I saw the results and I did shed a few tears,” Jyllian recalled. “I had worked so hard for my GCSEs, so seeing all those Grade 9s was an amazing feeling. I was proud, relieved and probably a little shocked all at the same time.”
Her parents framed the outcome around the effort behind it rather than the numbers alone. “As parents, we’re incredibly proud of Jyllian, not simply because of the grades but because of the work that went into achieving them,” said her father, Andy Gibbins. He pointed to her upbringing in an international setting paired with a strong sense of where she comes from. “She has grown up in an international environment but is very proud of her Filipino heritage. Seeing a young Filipina achieve at this level in a highly competitive British academic environment is something we think she should be enormously proud of.”
Her mother, Shara, hoped the result would resonate beyond their household. “Filipino children are growing up and succeeding in schools and universities all around the world,” she said. “We hope Jyllian’s achievement shows other young Filipinos that their background or first language does not have to limit what they can achieve.”
Jyllian credited her school for pushing her forward while building her belief in herself. “I’m very grateful to my teachers for everything they have done to support and encourage me,” she said. “They pushed me to do my best, but they also gave me confidence in what I could achieve.”
Now finished with her examinations, she is looking toward the next phase of her studies and treating this milestone as a beginning rather than a peak. “I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, but I also see it as a starting point,” she said. “I’m excited about what comes next and I want to keep challenging myself.”
She left other students with a straightforward takeaway drawn from her own experience. “The biggest thing I learned is that consistent hard work really does make a difference,” Jyllian said. “I hope other Filipino students see results like mine and believe that they can aim high too.”
