Syrian refugee graduates top of class from Australian school

MELBOURNE, Australia – A Syrian refugee has graduated from an Australian high school with top honors just two years after beginning to learn English.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that Saad Al-Kassab earned a 96.65 on an Australian college admissions test. Al-Kassab graduated dux, the Australian equivalent of valedictorian, from one of the country's largest Catholic high schools.

Al-Kassab says his initial poor English skills made it tough to get into a high school when he first arrived in Australia in June of 2014.

Now, he has been offered a college scholarship and is hoping to study medicine.