…QC students dominate again at CXC regional awards

GUYANESE students have again topped the Region, following their excellent performances at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Certificate (CAPE) examinations of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).

At the (CSEC) level, Guyana bagged three of the regional awards, according to the CXC website.
Daniel Basdeo-Thorne of Queen’s College was adjudged the Best Science Student for the Region; Salma Majeed of ISA Islamic School copped the award for the Most Outstanding Candidate in Humanities and Rebekah Persaud of the St. Rose’s High School, won the award for the Most Outstanding Candidate for Business Education.

Hearing the news of his achievement for the first time from the Guyana Chronicle, Thorne said: “Unbelievable. I’m in pain because I just pinched myself like a thousand times.” Though at the May/June sitting of CSEC, Thorne scored 13 Grade One passes and one Grade Two pass, he said that this award was definitely unexpected.

Salma was the third highest performer at this year’s examination with 18 Grade One passes, while Persaud scored nine Grade One passes, two Grade Twos and one Grade Three pass. The Region’s overall best CSEC student and School of the Year awards-awards that have traditionally been scored by Guyana- were however snatched by Antigua and Barbuda.

Keondre Herbert, from St Joseph’s Academy on the Caribbean Island, wrote 20 subjects and secured Grade One passes in all of them, according to the Antigua Newsroom. He bested Guyana’s top performer, Christian Pile, who scored 19 Grade One passes this year.

As a result of Herbert’s feat, his school will receive the CSEC 2018 School of the Year award.
Last year, Michael Bhopaul of Queen’s College had copped this overall prize, along with the Regional Best Science, Business and Technical/Vocational Studies awards, after achieving 25 Grade One passes.

Principal of the Queen’s College, Jackie Benn-Ralph, said that she is nevertheless, very proud of Pile’s performance this year. “In order to remain cutting-edge, our students have to write the most subjects” Benn noted.

She also shared that she was proud of the other awards the school brought home this year, as well. Guyana, however, made its mark at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), with its top CAPE student, Aadilah Alli, being adjudged as this year’s Regional Top Student. She also won the award for the Most Outstanding Candidate in Natural Sciences.

Alli copped eight Grade Ones at the recent sitting of the examinations and by topping the Region, she would have also caused Queen’s College to cop the CAPE School of the Year award. Alli has had her eyes on the prize since 2016, when she wrote 22 subjects at CSEC in an attempt to score a scholarship to help her to further her studies. She returned to the Sixth Form at Queen’s College to pursue CAPE studies, gave it one more try and was able to garner 14 Grade One passes and One Grade Two pass overall, over the two years at Sixth Form.

She too related that she was shocked at the award, but as the nation’s and the region’s top performer, she has certainly made it. Alli was complimented by her colleague, Rajiv Muneshwar, who is the best CAPE Mathematics performer in the Caribbean. Muneshwar served as the Head Prefect for Queen’s College during the past academic year.
The students will receive their awards at the Regional Top Awards ceremony slated for Thursday, December 6, 2018 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.