Mae’s Under-12 student Sonia Ghir was yesterday named the country’s top performer at this year’s National Grade Six Examinations.
When Sonia, 12, completed the exams earlier this year, she was confident that she had done well and was hoping for the best. “It’s amazing, wonderful, incredulous… that’s just some of the words I can think of to express my feelings,” she told Stabroek News at her school yesterday. Sonia, who secured 555 marks, was expecting to do well and tried not to worry too much about how she would perform. According to her, the examinations were not too difficult, with Social Studies proving to be the trickiest and Science the easiest.
Sonia is the daughter of Ramesh and Kamini Ghir. Ramesh is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation. Sonia is the elder of two children. Her mother Kamini said she was ecstatic about her daughter’s performance. “I’m happy, I’m happy that she did it. She did this for herself. And with God’s help she did it.” The mother noted that her daughter was a hard worker and that she was expected to do well. “Sonia has made me proud. I knew she had the ability and I expected her to do well,” she said, while also thanking all the teachers who guided her daughter along the way.
Meanwhile, Sonia, who plans to begin her secondary education at Queen’s College, is undecided at this point about a career. But she says she is thinking about becoming a doctor or a biochemist. She also loves to sing and do drama. She believes that she will be in a better position to decide on a career after she would have completed her secondary education.
Sonia is extremely grateful to God, her parents and other family members, friends, school teachers and extra-lessons teacher Wilfred Success for the role they played in her success. The top performer believes that if students want to succeed they need to study hard, eat well and relax when necessary.
La Bonne Intention (LBI) resident Tauhir Khan of the ISA Islamic school on East Street was brimming with excitement after learning his results. Tauhir, with 553 marks, placed second. He said that the results were within his expectations and, according to him, he spent varying periods studying while preparing for the examinations. He said the subjects did not pose much difficulty since he placed significant emphasis on his studies.
Tauhir stated that he was not so sure about what specific career path he would pursue. He noted that his family, including his parents and his sister, has always supported him throughout his school life. He also expressed gratitude to his friends and teachers at the school. His advice to students sitting the examinations next year is to “study hard, play once in a while and do not panic at the examinations.”
Victoria Najab, of the ABC Academy on New Market Street, scored 551 marks at the examinations and she was shocked when her class teacher, ‘Sir Chandra,’ announced the results of her performance to her classmates. The 10-year old told Stabroek News that she was excited about the results, noting that her tireless nights of studying and her attentive disposition assisted her greatly while preparing for the examinations. Victoria, who has a younger sister attending the institution, told this newspaper that her parents and teachers were positive that she would feature as a top performer at the examination.
Victoria, who has been at the school since the nursery level, stated that she completed her work and ensured she did well at the examinations. She features regularly as a top performer in her class and she is considering pursuing a career in law later in life, since she likes debating.
Shannon Woodroffe, 10, a student of School of the Nations, was lost for words when she received the news of her performance. She said she felt proud, noting that while she expected to do well her placement was beyond her expectations
Shannon, who celebrates her 11th birthday this year, stated that her parents and teachers had always assisted her with school work. The aspiring pilot noted that hard work paid off, as she reminisced about the nights she spent studying and making preparations for the examinations. She expressed appreciation to her parents and teachers at the school. She made special mention of her mother, whom she noted had supported her tremendously as the time to the examinations approached. Her advice to students sitting the examinations next year is to constantly study, to focus and concentrate “on your work and you will do well.”
Sacrifice
Eleven year-old North Georgetown Primary School student Marissa Scott burst into tears on hearing that she had secured the fourth spot. Between sobs, the Bagotsville, West Bank Demerara resident said that it was sacrifice that ensured her success.”I really worked hard. I did a lot of studying. I had to miss the best TV show ever, Hannah Montana, just to study,” she said, drying her tears. The aspiring teacher recalled that she attended lessons six days a week. During her spare time, she said, “I taught my teddy bear.” She thanked her mother, Simone, teachers as well as God for her success. Leading up to the exams, she said that her mother kept telling her that she would get whatever she worked for.
Marissa, who has five other siblings, is looking forward to attending Queen’s College and was elated that she has done her school proud.
Winfer Gardens Primary School student Petunia Wood, who scored 550 marks at the examination, was also lost for words when Stabroek News caught up with her yesterday. The 11-year old aspiring medical student said the results were beyond her expectations. She said that she would normally study twice during the week and on weekends and as the time wound down for the examinations, she concentrated her studies on the subjects which she needed to catch up on.
Petunia credited her performance to her parents, teachers and friends and her advice to students sitting the examinations next year was to be calm when approaching the examinations. The head teacher and other teachers of the school were happy yesterday, since, according to them, the school has not featured in top bracket of the better performances recently.
Suddie Primary School student Jagindra Persaud, 11, of Adventure, Essequibo Coast, was awarded the seventh spot. Speaking via telephone, Jagindra said that for him studying was not an issue and he found none of the subjects difficult on the day of the exam. He said that he had to sacrifice a lot of things he liked, including television. The aspiring lawyer said that he took extra lessons after school but knew he would do well since he was always topping his class. He said that he is very excited over his achievement and while he always wanted to attend Guyana’s top secondary school, he does not know if this will happen.
He was nevertheless grateful to his parents and teachers, whom he said were very supportive. Jagindra loves to read and his favourite subject is Mathematics.
There is a quiet confidence that oozes from Paige Carter, who secured 548 marks in the examinations. These marks were enough to earn the Mae’s Under-12 student the eighth spot in the country. With her achievement, Paige’s dream of becoming a student of Queen’s College is set to become a reality from September.
Formerly a student of the Stella Maris Primary School, Paige transferred to Mae’s in Grade Five. She is the only child of Kester and Vonetta Carter. Her parents were very supportive, as were her teachers and friends. As of now, she wants to be a surgeon. She feels it is a “good job,” especially since people’s lives could be saved. In her spare time, Paige likes to read and sing.
Another Mae’s Under-12 student, Michael Jagnanan, was also in the top 10 performers at this year’s exam. He recorded 547 marks and will be joining his sister Mariesa at Queen’s College in September. Mariesa had placed fourth in the country at the 2006 sitting of the National Grade Six Assessment.
At his Atlantic Gardens home, a beaming Michael recounted the long hours of hard work he put in to prepare for his exams. The exams, he said, were fairly simple although he found the English papers to be a bit of a challenge. His favourite subjects are Mathematics and Science but he is currently aspiring for a career in the legal field. “I would like to be a lawyer and then further to become a judge,” the lad said, even as he added that “this could change along the way.”
He was grateful for the support he received from his parents, Sasenarine and Kumarie Jagnanan, as well as other family members. He also saluted all the teachers who thought him throughout his school life and praised them for their dedication.
Graham’s Hall Primary School student Monique Hopkinson secured 547 marks, which was enough to place her ninth position in the country. A strong performer ever since she began her primary education, Hopkinson said she was confident she would have performed well. However, she told this newspaper that some of the exams were challenging and as a result she did not expect to do as well as she did. The English paper proved to be the toughest exam for her.
The aspiring surgeon is anxious to continue her education at Queen’s College from September. She said she always aspired to attend that school. She credits her success to hard work, strong support from her parents, Trevor and Petal Hopkinson, relatives, her teachers Padmini and Debbie, and help from God. An avid reader, Monique loves reading Carol Keene’s Nancy Drew series.
West Ruimveldt Primary School student Stephon Hussain, who also gained ninth place with 547 marks, said he was “shocked, elated and overjoyed” at his performance.
He said that it had been his wish to attend Queen’s College or Bishops’ High School. Stephon added that he was well supported by his family and teachers and that his success was based on hard work, with his studies starting a year ago. He expressed thanks to his parents, teachers, especially Sirs Success and Sandy, and the others who helped lay the foundation for his performance.
The lad said that while the upcoming vacation was a time to relax he would be preparing for the new life of high school.
High flyers
Savanna Ferreira (ninth), Crystal De Freitas (thirteenth) and Annalisia Hopkinson (thirteenth), all students of Leonora Primary, made the school proud with their performances. Eight of the school’s students, according to Senior Mistress Latchmin Gopaul, have made it to the top 100 as well. Besides having a common goal to attend Queen’s College, De Freitas, Ferreira and Hopkinson were all members of a special group at the Leonora Primary. This group, Gopaul explained, consisted of students who scored 90 percent and above on monthly tests that were administered to them. “Once they keep up to the high score, they enter this group and they must maintain their high grades to stay in the group… most students consider it a privilege to be in the special group and it works as a motivator for them to work harder,” Gopaul said. The “high flyers,” as Gopaul dubbed them, were given additional reading material. Reading, she also stressed, is the best way to expand the student’s knowledge.
For more than five years Leonora Primary has been churning out top performers at the examination.
Long hours of travelling, Savanna said, were perhaps the most difficult part of her Grade Six life. She explained that she lives at Wales, which is on the West Bank Demerara, and had to travel for more than 30 minutes to get to the school, which is located on the West Coast. “I studied hard for this,” Savanna said, “and so naturally I was overjoyed to get the news that I was in the top ten.” Her older brother, Savanna said, attended Queen’s College as well so she was hoping to follow him and turn it into a family tradition. “I used to go home,” Savanna recalled, “study a little bit then get some sleep then wake up around midnight to study again. This was my routine.”
Ever since she realised her dream is to become a veterinarian, Crystal has been working very hard to stay at the top of her class. Crystal said that she learnt early that Queen’s College is the best school to pursue the foundation for her studies, since it would have more up to date laboratory equipment. “I also had a cousin who was in the top ten a while ago and he has been my mentor,” the beaming Crystal added.
When she got the news, Annalisia said that she was in shock. She stood in the same spot for several minutes trying to process what her mother had just said. “My class teacher Miss Gopaul called mommy to tell her the good news and then mommy told me,” an excited Annalisia recalled.
Going home at 8.30pm and later at nights, Annalisia said, was the hardest part of her Grade Six life. The studying, she added, was fun. Not thinking of studying as work, the bubbly young lady stated, makes everything easier.
West Ruimveldt Primary School students Keia Smith, Nayasha Baksh and Tamika Lawrence as well as ABC Academy’s Nina Ramdeholl and Concord Academy’s Kadesh Daniels also shared the thirteenth spot.
Like Annalisia, Keia was also shocked at her results. She credited “hard work and studying a lot” for her success though she noted she was not too fond of studying. Keia, who had been aiming for Queen’s College, said that she would be using the vacation period to visit her relatives and new places. Her thanks went out to the teachers and ‘Sir Success’ in particular.
The soft-spoken Nayasha said she was “very happy” with her results, since she too had been aiming for a place at Queen’s College. Nayasha said her plans for the holidays included studying in preparation for her new school. She expressed thanks to all the teachers who inspired her, including ‘Sir Sandy’ and ‘Sir Success’ and ‘Miss Bibi’.
Tamika, who wants to be a lawyer, was “very excited” at her results and credited her performance to ‘Sir Success’ and the other teachers who had worked with her from Grade One. She added that she was studying every day. The young lady said she wanted to spend her vacation overseas and hoped that her performance would help make that a reality.
Nina, 12, of ABC Academy, was shocked when told of her performance. She said that her scoring 546 marks at the examinations was testimony to her preparations bearing fruit. Nina, who lives at Gordon Street in Kitty, stated that her preparations “were not really tiring but on the go.” Her favourite areas of studying are science subjects, since she finds the human anatomy interesting. Nina, who is an aspiring medical professional, is an only child. She stated that reading is the key to success, when asked of her advice to students sitting the examinations next year.
Kadesh of Concord Academy also copped thirteenth spot at this year’s exam with 546 marks. The soft-spoken young lady is pleased with her performance and now has her eyes set on attending Queen’s College in September. Regarding the exam, Kadesh said: “It was really simple, but I was worried…but now my worries are over.”
She is intent on becoming a paediatrician and is really fond of children and wants to help them. Kadesh was especially grateful for the help she received from her teachers, Vilma Cromwell, Joy Cameron and her tutor, Annette Lowe of Lowe’s Academy. Her mother, Kelianne Daniels, and her sisters, Kelicia and Kezia, also came in for special praise.