With 17 passes at last year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, Ajay Kissoon has earned his title as the Chase Academy valedictorian.
Kissoon, 17, who hails from Hogg Street, Albouystown, began his academic journey at Chase Academy in 2015. Although he had secured a spot at the East Ruimveldt Secondary School after writing the National Grade Six Assessment, his parents opted to enroll him at the Academy instead. He was later awarded an academic scholarship. This happened after his Social Studies teacher at the time, approached the Academy’s principal, Henry Chase, on Kissoon’s behalf because he was always at the top of his Form One class and he was always well-mannered. “Ajay was always a stand-out student in class and at Graduations. When I heard he was from the ghetto, I right away felt I had to help him out,” stated Chase.
In 2013, the educator and principal of Chase Academy came up with the idea of providing scholarships for free education at his private school to talented young people in sports and children who were underprivileged. Over the years, many of the scholarship students have represented Guyana and the Caribbean in many sporting disciplines.
This scholarship enabled Kissoon to continue his studies at the school unburdened from tuition costs and eventually excel at the CSEC 2020 examinations. He is one of 12 students on academic and sporting scholarships who excelled at the CSEC and CAPE examinations for the school year 2019-2020. Kissoon wrote 19 subjects and passed 17. His results are: Grade Ones in English language, Electronic Document Preparation and Management (EDPM), Human and Social Biology, Mathematics, Physical Education and Principles of Business. Grade Twos in Chemistry, Information Technology, Office Administration, Physics, and Principles of Accounts; and Grade Threes in Economics, English Literature, Geography, Religious Education, Social Studies and Spanish. Biology and Integrated Science were returned ungraded.
The valedictorian expressed his gratitude to his teachers, “Sir Calvin, Sir Beaton, Miss Suzette, Sir Langhorne, Ms. Cole, Miss Whittaker, Sir Ambrose, Sir Jornel, Ms. Daniels,” all of whom he said, helped him to excel. He noted that Chase was “stern with us and for this reason more than 90 per cent of us passed English A. ‘Chaseman’ I believe is an angel, a godsend. I know that God save our school because of the good seeds of sir over the years.”
He said that preparations for his examinations prior to and during the COVID-19 period were challenging. He recalled early mornings and late nights and even days when he had to travel from his home all the way to South Ruimveldt to attend extra lessons and then hustle back to the Academy to attend his English ‘A’ classes. He mentioned that he wrote Mathematics and English ‘A’ in Grade Nine and was awarded a Grade I for Mathematics and Grade II for English ‘A’. He believes that previous exposure to the exam helped to prepare him for the 2020 sitting.
The teen, who hopes to someday become a neurosurgeon, said that his mother would always tell him that education is important and added, “Mom stayed up while I study late hours each night. She was my rock. She prayed for God to protect [me] in this evil world.” Heeding his mother’s words, he said that he would advise other young persons and their parents that education opens doors for many opportunities, “It would allow our young people to think constructively. Education will not leave you like money,” he said. “I want all young people to know that anything is possible. Work hard, be discipline and put God first. Looking back now, I believed going to Chase Academy was made possible by God. The favor of God was on me to get this scholarship,” he declared.
Kissoon is encouraging his peers to stay in school and believes that anyone with a determined spirit can be successful. He added that given many of his peers living in Albouystown do not receive the support they require and he prays that the relevant authorities look after in to that, and “help them to get back to school, afternoon lessons or even to organised sporting activities.”
