QC Student tops CSEC exams

By Vahnu Manikchand and Nafeeza Yahya

Queen’s College took back the mantle this year as its students secured most of the top positions at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) examinations.

The results were announced on Tuesday by Education Minister Priya Manickchand as she revealed the top 52 students who secured 11 or more Grade Ones.

Securing the top spot with 19 Grade Ones and One Grade Two, is Elisa Hamilton of Queen’s College. She was followed by Skeldon Line Path Secondary School student Bharti Bhoge and fellow QC student Larissa Wiltshire with a tie of 17 Grade Ones.

Hamilton is currently vacationing overseas; however this publication contacted her parents who were not surprised but were nevertheless elated with their daughter’s performance. Her father Lennox Hamilton said that he suspected Larissa did well since Monday night after the school requested that he and his wife be present at the press conference for the announcement of the results.

He noted that they did not go but stayed home and watched it while messaging Elisa, who was also watching the live streaming online. “We were texting throughout the press conference and when we heard her results, I probably jumped to the roof. I was so elated and sent her a message but she already knew and said how delighted she was,” the father recalled.

According to Hamilton, the 16-year-old is a perfectionist and would have probably preferred 20 Grade Ones instead. He disclosed that Elisa has always been an overachiever and maintained good grades throughout her secondary school years.

The father said that Elisa is planning to follow the footsteps of her brother, who is a doctor; as such, she will be pursuing a career in the medical field. But for now, she will be doing A Levels at QC in September while keeping her eyes out for an expected scholarship to study abroad.

Line Path

Sixteen-year-old Bharti Bhoge of Line Path Secondary secured 17 grade ones. Bhoge is currently in the United States of America on vacation with her father and siblings. When the news was conveyed to her she could not believe. She attributed her success to hard work and dedication according to her uncle who described her as a “book worm,” always studying and reading. Her efforts earned her the number two spot in the country as the second overall top student.

Her Uncle Rabindranauth Bisnauth said Bhoge lost her mother in 2010 and during that time she was very traumatised   as her mom was murdered. She nevertheless continued her studies and emerged victorious. Seventeen-year-old Tressyia Ketwaroo, Bhoge’s study partner and close friend also of Line Path Secondary secured 16 grade ones and one grade two to earn the number 4 spot in the country.

Like her friend, she too knew she was going to do well but never expected to do so well. She related that they were looking at the television and when her name was announced by the Minister the entire household erupted with screams and tears of joy, her mom ran around the entire house before lifting her up and holding her in her arms.

The confident young lady said the results did not come as a surprise as she always strove to do the impossible. She is encouraging students who will be sitting the exams in the future to believe in themselves and read a lot.

“Many persons would not believe that Berbice can produce top in the country, but we did it, we are among the top”, she posited. She related that of the 18 subjects that she wrote she took up five business subjects off her own. She attributed her success to lots of reading and is very thankful for the support she received from her family and teachers as without their support, she could not have achieved the level of success she did. Etwaroo is aspiring to become a surgeon and will start making preparations to commence studying shortly.

Meanwhile, Wiltshire, who was placed third, along with fellow QC student Lisa John are also said to be overseas. John was awarded the fifth spot with 16 Grade Ones and One Grade Two. The sixth spot was taken by Walica Deokinanan of the Saraswati Vidya Niketan, who secured 15 Grade Ones, two Grade Twos and one Grade Three. Speaking to this newspaper, Deokinanan said that she is very pleased with her performance and was dumbfounded when she was told the news by her teacher. She said that she had to make some sacrifices while preparing for exams and had to stay at home studying most of the time, but it does not matter since it has paid off in the end. Deokinanan has already begun CAPE classes at SVN.

The seventh position was taken by another QC student. With 15 Grade Ones and two Grade Twos, Varsha Boodram was very excited about her results since she did not quite expect this as some of the subjects were very challenging. The 17-year-old is planning to return to QC to do CAPE.

Taking the number 8 spot is Natasha Alladin of JC ChandiSingh Secondary. She secured 15 grade ones. When this publication visited the young lady, she was extremely happy about placing among the top performers. She explained that she was in the science stream but took on some business subjects as well. “I wanted the experience in the different fields so I wrote some business subjects as well. I love challenges”. The future Cardiologist thanked God, her family, teachers and friends for the support. Alladin said, the most challenging aspect of her studies was waking up in the wee hours in the morning to study. She explained that the examinations were a bit challenging but the long hours of studies paid off.

The ninth and 10th spots were awarded to QC duo, Aliyyah Abdul Kadir and Sarah Hack respectively. Kadir obtained 15 Grade Ones and was not surprised with her results. She said that she had worked hard and expected to do well, but even as she received the news of her results, it was surreal.

Kadir said her intensive study regimes were instrumental in her studies. She will be attending Bishops to do her CAPE subjects since she is aspiring to be a lawyer and only that school offers the programme. Hack, on the other hand, secured 14 Grade Ones and two Grade Twos. The 16-year-old said that she was surprised with her results as she did not expect to do this well. She disclosed that she had heard the day before that she had done well but did not believe until it was announced by the Minister.

The aspiring doctor is looking to further her studies in the medical field abroad and is currently making preparations to do so. Queen’s College also obtained eight of the 10 spots of the country’s top performers at CAPE.

Region Two

Across in Essequibo, Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School has once again emerged as the top school for the Region Two. Bibi Areefa Mohamed of ARMS secured passes in 19 subjects with 13 grade ones and six grade twos. The Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School also has three other students in the top 25 of the country. (Additional reporting by Indrawattie Natram)