Six seniors at Elite Scholars Academy in Jonesboro have become the first students in Georgia to earn the Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education diploma, an internationally recognized credential that required three years of coursework and international examinations graded overseas. Mayra Angel, Denzel Garcia Padilla, Xuan Nhi Huynh, Uyen (Julie) Ly, Excel Omoloso and Vanessa Taylor make up the historic group, each finishing a rigorous academic pathway rarely seen in Georgia public schools.
As reported by WSB-TV, the diploma is awarded at Pass, Merit, or Distinction level depending on exam performance. Ly and Omoloso earned Distinction, Angel, Garcia Padilla and Taylor earned Merit, and Huynh earned Pass. Clayton County Public Schools Superintendent and CEO Dr. Douglas Hendrix congratulated the students and Elite Scholars Academy staff, saying it was “amazing” that the group became the first in Georgia to achieve the credential, per the same report.
School officials credited the milestone to Cambridge teachers, counselors, administrators, families, Principal Samuel Wayne West and magnet and Cambridge program coordinator Dr. Justin J. Spurley, the station's report notes. West himself was named a regional finalist in December for the Magnet Schools of America National Principal of the Year Award, according to Clayton County Public Schools, with the district crediting him for advancing magnet school access, equity and academic performance.
What It Takes to Earn the Credential
Earning the Cambridge AICE Diploma requires passing at least seven credits within a 25-month window, including the mandatory AS Level Global Perspectives & Research course alongside subjects drawn from Mathematics and Sciences, Languages, and Arts and Humanities, according to Cambridge Assessment International Education. A single AS level exam counts for one credit while a full A level exam counts for two. Examination papers are written and evaluated by examiners in England, a process distinct from the Advanced Placement tests more familiar to American students.
Elite Scholars Academy operates as registered Cambridge Centre UX462, offering Advanced Subsidiary level courses across multiple subject domains, Clayton County Public Schools says. Students take year-long AS level courses before sitting for the international exams, a structure that gives the program its multi-year shape.
A Magnet School Built for the Moment
Elite Scholars Academy began in 2009 as a public charter school before transitioning into an Early College Magnet School within Clayton County Public Schools in July 2016, per the district's institutional history. The school now serves grades 6 through 12 with an emphasis on accelerated honors and college-preparatory coursework. In October 2017, it opened a $22.2 million campus on Fielder Road in Jonesboro featuring 48 instructional spaces designed to hold up to 700 students, along with a digital animation lab, varsity athletic fields and a gymnasium.
The academy has maintained a 100% high school graduation rate every year since its first graduating class in 2014, according to Clayton County Public Schools, and consistently ranks among the state's top-performing magnet programs on Georgia Milestones assessments. It ranked fifth overall among public high schools in Georgia and 227th nationally among more than 24,000 evaluated schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2025 rankings, with the school also recognized in late 2024 as Georgia's top public middle school program.
College Credit and a Regional First
The University System of Georgia maintains a transfer framework allowing public universities, including UGA, Valdosta State and North Georgia, to grant college course credit for passing Cambridge AS and A Level exam scores ranging from A to E, according to Georgia Transfer. Credit equivalencies vary by institution and subject matter, giving the diploma tangible value beyond the honor of the title.
While states such as Florida have offered state-funded Bright Futures college scholarships for Cambridge AICE diploma recipients since 2001, Georgia high schools have traditionally leaned on Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment instead, according to Cambridge in the USA. That history makes Clayton County's 2026 cohort the state's first AICE diploma recipients, placing Elite Scholars Academy within a global network that spans more than 10,000 schools in 160 countries.
