AN aspiring astronomer, Maitri Vathada of Leonora Primary School on the West Coast of Demerara placed 12th at this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and was awarded a place at her dream school Queen’s College.

The Guyana Chronicle caught up with Maitri at the Leonora Primary School yesterday, where she was surrounded by a very happy and proud group of people – her mother, teachers, friends and other parents.
The 12-year-old was all smiles as she spoke with this reporter, relating that she had expected to do well since she put in a lot of hard work and always did well in school.
She explained that she was home earlier yesterday, and found out of her achievement when her mom saw it on the internet. She said that when she heard the news, she was rendered speechless with excitement.
Maitri exclaimed that placing among the top performers in the country is a dream come through and that she is very happy. She is now very excited to begin her journey at Queen’s College when the new academic year begins in September.
She advised that her favourite subject is Science and she hopes to one day become an astronomer. She added that she hopes her performance will serve to inspire her younger brother who is also a student of Leonora Primary.
Maitri stated that she owes a lot of her achievement to her parents who supported her in every step of the way. She is also very grateful to her teacher, Miss Narpatty Persaud, whom she said sacrificed a lot for her students and always guided them along the right path.
She also expressed gratitude to the headmistress of the school who, according to her, continuously encouraged the students.
Meanwhile, her mom Lavita Vathada was by her side and was overcome with excitement at what she said was a dream come through for her entire family.
She said she sacrificed a lot in the period leading up to the NGSA. She stated that her daughter had a mixture of study and play and always made time for a bit of relaxation.
Vathada related that Maitri loves to search the internet and research scientific things, especially relating to astronomy. According to her, Maitri is fascinated by the moon and stars.
She advised that Maitri’s father is a dentist and was at work at the time. However, she said that he is also very proud.
Vathada also expressed gratitude to the staff of Leonora Primary, adding that the teachers did their best to prepare the students for exams.
Meanwhile, Grade Six teacher Ms. Narpatty Persaud said she is overwhelmed, noting that she worked very hard with the students and also put in a lot of hours with them.
“The parents were also very supportive. What I did was like supervised homework, that’s why I put in the extra hours, it was like supervising their homework. So when they get home they have to just bathe and sleep. That’s what we did in the last term,” she explained.
Persaud related that the school only received information on the top students in the country and hence they are anxiously awaiting the rest of the results.
She said that while she is overwhelmed at Maitri’s performance she is still worried about the others. Nevertheless, Persaud said she expects them to do well.