As a budding archaeologist the country’s top student, Yogeeta Persaud of CV Nunes Primary School knows she has to work hard if she hopes to one day win a scholarship that would see her achieving her lifelong goal.
When Stabroek News contacted the 11-year-old via telephone at her Zorg, Essequibo home, she could not find words to describe her feelings. “I am excited, nervous all in one,” she said.
While she expected to do well, Yogeeta said she never imagined in her wildest dream that she would have been the best in country. Yogeeta learnt of the good news from a teacher shortly after she had arrived home from school. “I started to cry, but tears of joy,” she said.
She told Stabroek News that for the entire year she was in Grade Six she studied until around 11 at night. “I read all the text books over and over,” she said but added that she still played and did other things.
Her parents, Takoor, a hardware store owner, and Davita, acting Principal Assistant Secretary, Finance, at the Regional Accounting office in Region Two, were very instrumental in her studies and would test her to ensure she knew what she read.
Yogeeta always did well in school and proudly said she never got below second in her class and in fact was always competing with her classmate Zimeena Rasheed, who is number five in the country.
The young girl said she owes her success to God, her parents and teachers. She encourages those who are writing the Grade Six Assessment (GSA) next year to study and just do their best but not to push themselves too much. She said while her parents encouraged her they never pushed her and always told her to do the best she can and that would be enough.
The proud mother Davita said while she always knew her daughter would have done well she was still surprised to hear she did that well.
Yogeeta wanted a laptop and she is going to get it. “She deserves it and we would give it to her and hook it up to the internet,” she said while saying that she may also be given a trip.
And while many children would be excitedly attending the country’s premier secondary school, Queen’s College (QC) next term, Yoeegta will opt for Anna Regina Multilateral School. She does not have a problem with that however; she said she always wanted to attend that school.
Her mother said Yogeeta is her only child and she would not want to send her to Georgetown for school. “That [Anna Regina] is a good school and she would do well there I cannot send my only one all the way to George-town,” the mother said.
As it is right now, Yogeeta is a celebrity in her village and she is enjoying all the attention she is receiving.
The reality of placing second in the country was yet to sink in for Sayyid Rajab, who was speechless for a brief period, but got talking after colleagues and teachers at his school started praising his performance. “I am shocked and happy to say the least. This is a great moment and after working so hard for it, I am really excited. I was told that I could top the country but I am happy with what I got,” the 12-year-old Better Hope, East Coast Demerara resident said.
Sayyid said he had many late nights that often ended at midnight but according to him, it was not all work.
He also spent time playing table tennis, watched an occasional television programme and surfed the internet.
He joined the Isa Islamic School from the nursery school level and is grateful to all his teachers for the hours and the extra effort they put into his schooling. Sayyid named his parents; Shakira Jameel and Gregory Rajab as his biggest supporters but he praised Allah for guiding him though it. Though he is unsure as to which career path he will take, the young man said that it will definitely be something in the field of science because that is the subject he enjoys the most.
As he spoke with Stabroek News, Sayyid’s colleagues kept showing up and congratulating him, and one child remarked that if this is what it means to come second in the country then he will aim for the same.
For 11-year-old Arianna Seeraj, a St Margaret’s Primary School student, copping the second place in this year’s GSA examinations, came as a great surprise.
When Stabroek News arrived at the school, Arianna had just received the news of her accomplishment and was smiling broadly.
“It feels great and I am very proud of myself,” she said as her mother Bibi, headmistress Borgette Charles and class teacher Kathryn Persico-Newton looked on.
According to this aspiring paediatrician, she is excited about attending QC, especially since she has a brother there.
Arianna said she always knew she had the ability to do well but did not expect to get into the top ten. For her, Social Studies, Paper Two was most difficult but despite that she was confident that she would have done well
Her mother Bibi, expressed joy at her daughter’s achievement.
Her teacher said she always did well in class.
Shahrazaad Khan, 11, of LBI, East Coast Demerara grabbed the fourth spot in the country.
The soft spoken girl said she was shocked after learning how well she did and was on her way home when she got the news. She said her mother who was with her turned around and drove back to the school so she could celebrate with her teachers and classmates.
She recalled that the examinations’ preparation was hard and pointed out that she took a decision not to stay up too late. Shahrazaad loves reading and is a huge fan of author, JK Rowling. She has read every book in the Harry Potter series and plans on reading anything new from the author.
She is undecided on a particular career but plans on working extremely hard as she continues with her studies. Shahrazaad said her parents; Sabina and Shazadh Khan offered endless support and that her teachers were the best. She is looking forward to attending QC later this year.
“Surprised and excited”, were the words 11-year-old St Margaret’s Primary pupil Ridwaan Safi used to describe his success at the exams. He placed fifth. At his Better Hope, East Coast Demerara home, Ridwaan said he first heard the news from another newspaper and was stunned. He said Bishops High was his first choice, however, since he has earned a place at QC, he said, he will go there.
When his brother wrote the exam in 2006, he came in third in the country. Ridwaan says that he wants to following in his father’s (Dr Zeinool Safi) footsteps and become a paediatrician. He said that his parents, big brother and teachers especially, Ms Persico and Ms Carrington contributed to his success. He added that he always did well but fell back in Grades Three and Five. His mother, Shamila said that during the
examination, he was a bit nervous and she was a big afraid after hearing what he had to say after the exams. She said that she never expected that he would have placed so well. Ridwaan is a big fan of video games and television.
Eleven-year-old Zimeena Rasheed of Queenstown, Essequibo Coast, and pupil of CV Nunes Primary, who is also in fifth place, told Stabroek News that she feels contented since she worked very hard towards her success. The confident and well spoken Zimeena said she took extra lessons and studied early in the mornings leading up to her exams. She said her siblings along with her parents stayed up late and encouraged her throughout her studies.
She said the exams were not all easy; Science, Mathematics and English were okay, but Social Studies was very challenging.
Zimeena expressed sincere gratitude to her family, teacher and friends. She also congratulated her colleague, top pupil Yogeeta Persaud, with whom she had always competed.
Crystal Ramdayal of West Ruimveldt Primary School knew immediately after she finished writing the examinations that she had made many careless mistakes. She even had an incident during the English examination that later resulted in her teacher questioning what went wrong. According to her, she was denied an extra paper to finish a composition and was later informed that the person erred by not giving her a second sheet.
Fifth place in the country still feels pretty good, according to the young woman who hopes to stay on top of her work for many years to come. As an only child Crystal said she was able to receive a tremendous amount of support from her mother, Davi Paul. She said that support meant everything to her and her studies. She said her teacher Wilfred Success played a very integral role in her studies and led her to where she is now. Crystal also named her uncle Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall as being very supportive.
Today is her mother’s birthday and according to Crystal, the news has been an excellent gift. She is not sure what she wants to do for a career but is certain that whatever it is she is going to love it and be good at it.
QC has been on her mind for some time now and she will get the opportunity to attend the school in September.
Twelve-year-old Jonelle Europe says she is extremely proud of herself for coming out successful at this year’s sitting of the GSA. Jonelle, a student of the ABC Academy on New Market Street, placed fifth.
When this newspaper arrived at the school, she was there with her father Cuthbert. According to Jonelle, she expected to do much better but her father expressed shock at her placing.
Smiling, he said, he had expected her to place in the top 20.
Jonelle, who moved to ABC following the destruction of her school, Sacred Heart by fire some years ago, always topped her class at end-of-term examinations.
She said she always wanted to attend QC and now that she has earned a place there, she will do her best.
She said Social Studies, paper one was the most difficult paper and she loves Mathematics. She said the GSA was like any normal examination for her. She attributed her success to her class teacher, Sir Chandra.
She said she wants to become either a nurse or a doctor when she grows up as this can benefit the country. In her spare time, one can find her listening to music or using the computer.
Kavita Sawh of 5 Good Hope Gardens, East Coast Demerara is the sole ninth place student.
With a joyous expression on her face, Kavita said she was excited that her success and that the long nights and “no spare weekends” paid off.
The Dharmic Rama Krishna Primary School student said she would like to become a lawyer and loved to watch shows such as CSI Miami and Law and Order. She spends much of her spare time helping out at home.
Shaphan Hestick, 11, was elated when he heard the news first from his mother, Marva Hestick, a head-teacher at the Vreed-en-Hoop Community High School, then from his father, Marlon, a pastor. He said he jumped up and ran about the place.
The New Guyana School pupil was one of three persons who copped the tenth position. The well-spoken aspiring biologist said while he was hoping for a better position, he did not really believe that he would have done so well. He said the papers were “not really” difficult for him.
On his studying regime, he revealed that in the countdown to the exams, he “did quite a bit of studying “and then just relaxed and tried to recall “everything I learned over the past year”. He noted that he also took extra lessons and he was hoping to be awarded a place at QC. He said he liked Science and wanted to become a biologist.
For his success, he thanked Jesus Christ, his parents and siblings and teacher Shirley Green. His advice to other students is that exams aren’t something to be afraid of. For the holidays he is planning “kick back and relax” noting that it had been an “entire year of drilling and learning”.
Guyana’s fifth best junior chess player, 11-year-old Cecil Cox of the New Guyana School copped one of the number ten places. The young man who described himself as “pretty much average” told Stabroek News that his success was not above his expectations.
He said he planned to pursue the Science field at secondary school since his ambition was to become a Theo physicist.
Cecil of 496 Northeast La Penitence, who is also a striker in the GFC under-13 football team, advised other students to “study diligently” in order to realize their successes.
His parents related that the news today was not really surprising to them since Cecil was always a hard worker and did excellent in school. They said that they never sent him to extra lessons since they did not want him to have the extra hassle involved in that.
Cecil enjoys reading as is evident in his extensive vocabulary and also relaxes with a good game on his game boy.
“Oh my God,” was the reaction of 11-year-old Sharmila Ramlall, when this newspaper informed her that she had copped the tenth spot in the country. The Leonora Primary School student said she was on the “ninth cloud”. Initially, she said, she thought the call was a prank.
The excited aspiring doctor said that she was confident that she would have done well. The girl said that the exam “wasn’t that hard”, noting that she had studied past exam papers. She stated that she had always dreamed about going to QC and had worked towards this goal. “I knew that I would have done it”, she stated.
She thanked her teacher, Latchmin Gopaul and her headmaster, other teachers, parents and friends with whom she studied. She noted that the road to her success saw her doing extra lessons after school and on Saturdays.
During the holidays, the girl, who is the only child of her parents said that she plans to do computer lessons.
The fifth and youngest daughter of Ghanaian parents, St Margaret’s pupil Eunice Hammond still cannot believe she placed tenth. Speaking at her East Ruimveldt home, the 12-year-old said it was a great achievement for her as two of her sisters had attended QC.
An aspiring paediatrician, she recalled that “a man from a media house” had called her and she thought that the person was playing a prank. When that call ended, she dismissed the idea that she had placed tenth. It was only when her headmistress called that she finally accepted that it was true.
“I was surprised. I am so excited. I cannot express how I feel right now,” she said smiling broadly. According to her, Social Studies was the hardest subject and at the end of that exam, she thought that it would lower her score. “I always wanted to go to Queen’s. I always prayed…. I like the school and it was God who helped me to get it,” she said adding that she did not just like the school because it’s the best but because it helped you to become something good. She said that throughout her primary school life she always averaged between 90 and 95%. She likes to read and act. Her favourite subjects are English, Science and Social Studies. (Interviews by Oluatoyin Alleyne, Iana Seales, Zoisa Fraser, Gaulbert Sutherland, Melissa Charles and Diane Gonsalves)