Twelve-year-old Sonia Ghir of Mae’s Under 12 School is Guyana’s top performer at the 2010 National Grade Six Assessment examinations, the results of which were released yesterday. The young lady attained a country-topping score of 555 marks.
Others in the top ten were Tauhir Khan of Isa Islamic School, the second highest student with 553 marks while Victoria Najab of ABC Academy shared the third spot in the country with a score of 551.
Speaking to this newspaper, Ghir said that she felt “wonderful” on hearing the news of her success. She said that she felt incredible. Ghir said that the results came as the result of hard work, eating well, sleeping well “and doing everything possible to be the best that I can be.”
She said that she cut the amount of time spent on watching television and spent more time studying. Ghir is aspiring to be an actress or a singer. But she said that she is not averse to becoming a doctor or a biochemist either. She thanked God, her lessons teachers and her parents. Maths and English are among her favourite subjects. Her mother said that it was a very emotional time for her to know of the results that her daughter attained. “I am proud of her,” Sonia’s mother Kamini Ghir said. “She did a lot of extra work.”
Paige Carter, also of Mae’s Under 12, said that she felt excited and happy on hearing of the results. She credits God and her parents and grandparents for the results. “I could not have watched television and I had to study hard,” she said. She also attended extra lessons. She said that maths and science are her favourite subjects in preparation for the examinations, which she said she found to be easy. Paige wants to become a surgeon since she wants to help people. “Surgeons help save lives,” she said. Paige said that she was really excited about going to Queen’s College “because it is one of the best schools in Guyana.”
Marissa Scott of North Georgetown Primary School said that she expected to do well in the examinations but she was surprised to have topped the school. She said that she prayed asking God to get her enough marks to go to Queen’s College but she did not expect to top the school. “I studied a lot and could not watch television,” she said. Eleven -year-old Marissa said that she would like to become a teacher. Asked who her inspiration for the good result was, she said, “it was the teachers for me. They were very good and supportive.”
Victoria Najab was very excited on hearing the news that she was among the top ten. She said that one year before the examinations she gave up playing and studied hard at night. She also had some measure of schooling at home and extra lessons from Sir Chandra, Principal of the ABC Academy. “My parents and teachers inspired me,” she said. The 12-year-old girl is aspiring to become a lawyer and says that she loves debating. She is also very active in sports since she plays cricket for her school and also enjoys football and badminton. Victoria wants to study at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Petunia Wood told the Guyana Chronicle that she was excited on hearing of the result. She said that for her the examination was both easy and hard. She said that the maths was easy but she found social studies to be hard. Petunia said that her schedule was study morning, at midday, in the afternoon and at night. “I had to put aside playing and watching television,” she said, adding that she was hitting the books all the time. “I enjoyed studying but at the same time it was a little difficult,” she said. The 11-year-old Petunia is aspiring to be a lawyer.
Tauhir Khan said that he was “a bit surprised on hearing his result since he never thought that he would be that good. He said that although the studying was hard, he eventually got used to it. During the time that he was studying he was not allowed to watch any television. The young man said that he will decide later what he wants to become.
Michael Jagnandan said that he was ecstatic and happy and speechless on hearing of the result. He said that a friend of his mom “called at about 15 hours then we heard the results and jumped for joy.”
He said that he has had to make some sacrifices like giving up video games and the computer. He said that he would start his work at around 18 hours, finish his homework by 19 hours and then study for two hours later. He credits his sister with giving him the inspiration since she also went to Mae’s and moved on to Queen’s College. The 11-year-old wants to become a lawyer, prosecutor and a judge.