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single word requests - What to call the best student in a class?


Is there a word in English to qualify the highest-ranked student in a class in a year?


We are talking here about higher education, especially in the context of curricula that keep a given set of students over the course of several years, being ranked at the end of each year, possibly with competitive admission for the following year. The ranking is a weighted average of all marks obtained over the year.


I am looking for a single word, or expression, to quickly designate the one student with the highest ranking. If there is no such thing in English, then let's try to get the most concise and idiomatic definition.


In all cases, it is not emotionally connoted, i.e. not pejorative nor bragging.


For French speakers: I am looking for the translation of “major de promotion”.



EDIT: additional, not as much of a pure “word request” question: is this anything you should mention on a curriculum vitæ in the English-speaking world? If so, please mention whether the given word is appropriate for such a use  :)



Answer



Valedictorian, but this is an American expression.


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