Crème de la crème:

A Huntington Beach eighth grader placed among the top students in the nation in the National French Contest Le Grand Concours.

Of 100,699 students participating, Carden Academy student Reina Sultan ranked fourth in the nation and second among 2,462 Southern California students, the school announced Tuesday.

“It is a very difficult test and you have no idea what is going to be on the test,” teacher Colette Waldron said in a news release. “Reina is very motivated. She’s an excellent student with great study habits.”

Three other Carden students finished in the top 10% nationally: Michael Furuya, Tianne Nguyen and Khalid Shakur; two finished in the top 20%: Shannon Conboy and Nick Aguila; and five finished in the top 50%: Aly Torline, Nicole Zapotoczny, Keane Urashima, Sierra Christy and Yousheng Cho.

“We’re extremely proud of our students,” Carol Van Asten, the school’s director, said in a news release.

Le Grand Concours is an annual competition sponsored by the American Assn. of Teachers of French.

The four students who finished in the Top 10% received medals from the association.

— Jennifer Frehn