The top performers of this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) were announced on Friday and many of those pupils highlighted the long hours spent studying and preparing for the secondary school placement examination.
Glasford Archer from the Leonora Primary School was one of three pupils sharing the top spot this year.
When he spoke to reporters after his results were announced, the boy said he expected to be named among the top 50 performers. He did not, however, expect to get the highest marks.
“I used to be studying till like 12 (midnight), then again before I go to school… even in class, whenever I have free time, I’d be reading a book and then I’d take some leisure time before I go back and do it again,” Archer said.
It was a seemingly rigorous study schedule but Archer, an aspiring businessman, said he was happy for the results he got. And for him, there was an extra sense of pride in bringing recognition to his school.
Anaya Jagnandan of the New Guyana School and Ritisha Gobin of the Academy of Excellence shared the top spot with Archer. Each of the three pupils scored 506.7 marks out of a grand total of 507.7.
And like Archer, Jagnandan and Gobin put in long hours studying for the NGSA.
Gobin said she went to after-school lessons every night and then attended extra lessons on the weekends for about two to three hours daily.
The girl, who is interested in becoming a pilot or lawyer, explained that she felt a sense of nervousness leading up to the announcement though she put in extra work while preparing.
Topping the country made her excited.
Jagnandan found herself trusting the extra effort she put in before the assessment.
“It was neither too easy nor too difficult.
“It was just an average exam that you were preparing for your whole life,” the aspiring astronomer told reporters.
The belief that hard work paid off was shared by all of the top students who were gathered at the Pegasus Suites at Kingston, Georgetown, for the Ministry of Education’s announcement ceremony.
And instead of reading notes or attending lessons, some of those top performers highlighted other ways they studied.
Aradhya Ramjag, of the Mae’s Under 12 School, said her father was instrumental in helping her to study a subject she hated: mathematics. But after benefitting from after dinner lessons every night the girl said she now has a greater appreciation for the subject.
Afeerah Ali, the top performer from the Chateau Margot Primary School who did not have any doubts that she would be among this year’s high achievers, said watching videos helped her study.
And she expects to continue studying well at Queen’s College where she, like the aforementioned top performers, was offered a spot.
Meanwhile, top performers for Regions Eight and Nine, Makeda Johnson and Ken Kyle Mark copped spots at the St. Stanislaus College and the St. Joseph High School in Georgetown.
Mark told reporters that he balanced his studies alongside working on his family’s farm. And he said it was his mother who encouraged him to read over his notes several times just so he could be prepared for the assessment.
Now, the boy has his sights set on becoming a surgeon one day. Johnson, on the other hand, wants to be a scientist one day because of her fascination with plants and miniature creatures.
