The 9th Paramount Championship 2014 saw more than 350 student winners, testament to Sri KDU®’s ethos of letting every student shine.
Kuala Lumpur, 26 June 2014: The 9th Annual Paramount Championship, an Olympic-inspired talent competition by Sri KDU® Secondary School, ended yesterday in a Grand Finale which showcased the best of student talent in a multitude of events.
After three months of intense competition, over 350 students walked away with gold, silver and bronze medals in a series of 30 event categories including Solo Singing, Band, Modern Dancing, Short Film, Photography, Debate, Writing, Chess, Fine Arts and Culinary Arts.
“The Paramount Championship aims to provide a platform for all our students at Sri KDU® Secondary School to unleash and develop their talents in the areas of performing arts, creative design and expression. It is an event that is organised by the students for the students – from design to production down to the details of event management.
“From this, students learn and experience school life with a difference. They learn things that cannot be taught in a classroom or read in a book. It provides students with a platform to experience, to lead, to organise, to communicate, to be creative, to break away from the norm and to be confident young adults,” said Datin Teh Geok Lian, Chief Executive Officer of the KDU Education Group.
“This is the ninth year of the competition and every year, we see tremendous creativity, teamwork and leadership demonstrated by the students. This competition is not all about winning, it’s about active participation. In fact, what we see here today is the result of hard work from a team of 40 crew members – all comprising students! Seeing all this come together as such a fine production, I can confidently say that we are on the right track of bringing to life our ethos of letting every student shine,” she added.
The Paramount Championship, initiated in 2006, was mooted based on the smart school concept of holistic personal development, striving to complement the academic curriculum provided by the Malaysian Ministry of Education.
This year’s competition began in March, with students competing in a series of qualifying rounds, resulting in five finalists from each category selected to compete in the Grand Finals. Each event category was adjudicated by a panel of judges who determined the winners. The judging panel in all the rounds including the Grand Finals comprised teachers, former students and/or practitioners in the various fields of performing and creative arts. Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to the top three winners in each category.
Points were then awarded to all participants and winners, with the class obtaining the highest accumulated points declared as the Champion Class. This year, the coveted Champion Trophy was awarded to three champion classes – 1 Mozart, 3 Aristotle and 5 Edison – each representing the different competing age groups.
In addition to the Championship Trophy, a slew of other awards were also given out in recognition of various talents.
Triple award winner, Alyssa Johaan, 17, who won the Best Performer (Female), Best Vocalist as well as the Honorary Award, is a veteran of the Paramount Championship, having started when she was in Form 2. She believes all Sri KDU® students should participate in this talent competition.
“The Paramount Championship sparked my interest in the performing arts which led to roles in our annual school productions. Every year, I learn something new. I think students who don’t participate in the Paramount Championship miss out on a big part of being in Sri KDU®,” she said.
Razlan Ashraf Amin, 17, who won the Best Performer (Male) award said, “In the Paramount Championship, you get to see lots of talented people and everyone puts in a lot of effort and hard work. The most important thing is how you get together with friends and work together.”
His sentiments were echoed by Tai Yee Jun, 16, who believed that the competition is a great platform for hidden talents. “It’s such a fun event to participate in and a great addition to balance out academics. And of course, winning is amazing!” he enthused. Yee Jun won the Favourite Performer Award (Male).
