Leonora Primary, with an unbroken record of featuring prominently in the list of the nation’s top achievers at the National Grade Six Examinations over the years, has again stamped its mark in the list of the top106.
This time around, of eight spots taken in the top 106, three pupils from that school have emerged among the top 17.  They are Sevanna A. Ferriera, Crystal C. De Freitas and Annalisa Hopkinson.
Teeming with excitement when they received the good news at school yesterday afternoon, the girls could scarce contain their emotions – it was unspeakable joy after hard work , and it took several minutes before it could ‘sink in’, according to Annalisa Hopkinson.
“I couldn’t believe it: I felt excited, but yet shocked. I shouted with joy, and it took several minutes before I could catch myself.” she recalled.
She recounted a few of the challenges such as having to attend extra lessons after school and getting home as late as 20:00 hrs, and getting  back to books before going to bed . With just one other sibling who is younger than she is, Annalisia recalls she also had her fair share of chores to perform at home, but was able to balance it.
Happy that she has performed well at the assessment, she now looks forward to attending Queen’s College where she can pursue studies in the science stream, with an eye on one day becoming a medical doctor.  She is grateful to her parents Natalia and Anthony Hopkinson, her teacher, Ms. Gopaul, and others who supported her along with way.
Crystal said it was a great relief after a prolonged period of hard work.
“I had to make some sacrifice like putting aside some of my favourite activities like watching TV like I did before; less play and a lot of reading and working on assignments, but now I am happy because it has paid off.  She recalled that the exam itself was a bit challenging, but she knew that she had prepared for it and just felt she’d come out successful.
“It has always been my desire to attend Queen’s College and now, for me, it’s a dream come true,” she joyfully asserted. With an ardent love for animals, her ambition is to one day become a veterinarian. Crystal would like to express gratitude to God, her class teacher, Ms. Latchmin Gopaul, and parents and family and friends who supported her every step of the way.
And Sevanna Ferriera, of Good Intent, who was equally excited, jumped for joy on learning that she too had qualified for Queen’s College.  “I worked very hard to earn a place at Q.C. and today I am very happy.”
She too was confident when writing her examination, but recalled the questions in Social studies were a bit tricky.