The results were released last week and this afternoon the top 26 performers on the Primary School Examination were honored at an awards ceremony. It was held at the George Price Center in Belmopan and 7NEWS was there.
Shaneice Lord, 1st Place in PSE
“I feel very good. I think I did very well and I worked very hard for it.”
Shaneice Lord was actually excellent. She got 388 points and had perfect scores in math and science – winning her the Jane and Michael Nembhard Award. Her proud mother is Examinations Unit boss Yvonne Davis.
Yvonne Davis, Mother
“This is my one and only and I am very proud of her. I really am.”
Keith Swift,
Did you expect this performance from her?
Yvonne Davis,
“I knew she was going to do extremely well and I was very frightened when I saw her name at the top on the list. But I know she is a very hard worker, I know she is dedicated, independent, she studies hard, and her teacher is a slave driver so I knew she was going to do extremely well.”
Keith Swift,
You felt any pressure to do well?
Shaneice Lord,
“Not really because she didn’t pressure. I didn’t really feel any pressure. She said she was going to be happy if I did my best.”
Shaneice shared the spotlight with 25 other students and a packed room of proud teachers and family.
Denesha Grant, 2nd Place in PSE
“I am very proud because I worked hard for the examination and I am just really proud that it paid off.”
Keith Swift,
How much work did you put in?
Denesha Grant,
“I took morning classes, evening classes, Saturday classes and additional
subject classes to help me prepare for this examination.”
Keith Swift,
You thought you would have done this well?
Denesha Grant,
“I do well in school but I was judging myself and I wasn’t sure if I would do so well. But in the end I guess I did excellent.”
Molly Hewlett, Principal – Holy Redeemer Primary
“I am happy. She really made our school proud. She has been doing this from infant, she has shown that she has the potential, she has worked hard. We are really happy for her.”
Keith Swift,
What do you think you guys at Holy Redeemer are doing right?
Molly Hewlett,
“Well we try to teach to the best of our ability. We look at different strategies, we explore every little avenue, we assess our past exams, and we just add in extras every year.”
Tichana Worrell, 7th Place
“I am overwhelmed at this point about my great accomplishment. After coming out of the award ceremony I am very happy.”
Keith Swift,
How did you prepare?
Tichana Worrell,
“Well I studied every Saturday, practiced every Sunday, and during the week I would write stories and practice math problems and so on.”
Keith Swift,
What would be your advice to other students?
Tichana Worrell,
“Well you should start to prepare from an early age because it is better than when you reach in standard six because it is a very hectic jam packed class and everything is like jammed at the moment. So start from like standard four studying on the weekends and practicing stories and everything.”
Education Minister Patrick Faber tempered the celebration with a reminder of the many who didn’t make it.
Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
“It would be remised of me not to draw to your attention the students who are not here with us. Indeed those whose futures, according to the PSE results, may well make future success more difficult for them. For just as it is true that to those who are given more, more is expected, it is also often true that those who are given more often get more. I give you an analogy: imagine two persons sharing one bed; one is fat and the other is skinny. No imagine those same two persons sharing a blanket. Who do you think often gets more of the blanket? Naturally the fat one. The points I am making to you are two fold. The first is that there are many inequities in our education system, indeed in our entire society. And while I wish not to take anything away from all of those who are successful and are being honoured today, I wish to point out that we may find out that in many instances the successes we laud and the failures we condemn may well reflect these inequities.”
Shaneice Lord also received a laptop computer from the Ministry of Education. Both Shaneice Lord and Denesha Grant have applied and have been accepted at St. Catherine’s Academy.
