April 8, 2025
South Lake High School Celebrates First Graduating Class of Cambridge AICE Program
By Kyle Coppola
South Lake High School Celebrates First Graduating Class of Cambridge AICE Program
GROVELAND, Fla. — South Lake High School is celebrating a historic milestone as the Class of 2025 becomes the school’s first graduating cohort to complete the prestigious Cambridge AICE (Advanced International Certificate of Education) Program.
The trailblazing seniors took a leap of faith four years ago when the program was introduced at South Lake, becoming pioneers of a rigorous, internationally recognized academic path administered by Cambridge Assessment, part of the University of Cambridge in England. The program offers college-level courses to high school students, allowing them to earn college credit and, for many, a head start on their higher education journey.
To earn the AICE Diploma, students must pass at least seven end-of-year AICE exams—equivalent to completing 21 college credit hours. Additionally, AICE Diploma recipients who maintain a 3.5 weighted GPA and complete 100 hours of community service or work are eligible for the top tier of Florida’s Bright Futures Scholarship, which covers 100% of college tuition.
(These six students were recognized for high marks in the USA over three or more Cambridge AS or A level subjects.)
This inaugural class of scholars earned a collective total of 489 college credit hours and achieved 14 Cambridge AICE Diplomas. Impressively, three seniors were awarded the Cambridge Outstanding Learner Award for scoring among the highest in the world on their AICE exams.
“This is an incredible group of students who not only embraced a challenging academic program but also participated in the full high school experience—from sports to clubs—while paving the way for future Eagles to soar,” said Ms. Gonzalez the AICE Site Specialist at South Lake High School.
The Cambridge AICE Program at South Lake High School is designed for students seeking academic rigor, global recognition, and scholarship opportunities. With the program’s successful launch, South Lake continues to position itself as a leader in preparing students for college and beyond.
We have seen similar success at Umatilla High School and Leesburg High School in recent years. It’s great to see this program at South Lake High.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
