HAVING received the good news of securing passes with Grade Ones in all nine subjects she wrote at the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, 15-year-old Guyanese born, Pretha Smith, of Harrison College, Barbados, has reason to celebrate.

Pretha who has spent most of her school life, so far, in Barbados has returned home to Guyana with her mother and will continue her education here. An aspiring neurologist, Pretha hopes to attend Sixth Form at Queen’s College where she will prepare for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE). On completion, she will move on to further her studies at the University of Guyana (UG).

From a very tender age, the young girl proved herself to be a winner among her Barbadian classmates–from being amongst the top five students writing the Common Entrance Examinations at Wesley Hall Primary School, Barbados, in 2012, to emerging as one of Harrison’s top performing students at CSEC this year.

Pretha wrote Biology, Chemistry, Physics, General Math, Add Math, English Language, English Literature, French and Geography – and secured Grade One in all the subjects.
And to whom does she give the credit? “To God Almighty be the glory; great things he hath done,” Pretha told the Pepperpot Magazine during an interview.

Throughout her studies for Common Entrance and after settling into secondary school, she has always been consistent in her academic performance. Pretha’s mother, Petal Smith, shared stories of challenges they faced as the young girl was preparing for exams.
“It wasn’t easy. Times were hard, but we trusted God absolutely, as our Jehovah Jireh – our Provider, and we have seen him come through for us, and so we are eternally grateful,” Petal said.

How technology helped
But despite these difficulties, Pretha took advantage of the resources of the digital age to help her to achieve her goals; a step that she would advise other children her age to take.
She believes that students living and studying in resource-poor settings should get familiar with technology and make the best use of the internet, since doing so, helps you to access information even when you do not have the luxury of purchasing books, or hiring a tutor outside of classroom hours.

She recalls the initiatives she took while having to study alone and not attending extra lessons. “I must say Youtube was a great help for me because I was able to find some people online who would do study tutorials and outline how they manage their time,” she said. Some studied live with her, while others did broadcasting, so she could study along with them. “That was another form of help for me and made me feel that there was another person studying next to me. That also motivated me to study,” she said.

She remembers listening to podcasts in French; watching TV and doing practical past papers she found on the site. She also managed to find a lot of materials on a UK website on virtually all her subjects and topics.

Well rounded
Throughout her schooling young student has consistently been featured on the principal’s Honor Roll, but remains a rounded student with an active extracurricular life as well. “I have always been actively involved in the dance ministry at church in Barbados, I was part of my school’s orchestra, playing the Clarinet and I was a Student Tutor in the Fifth Year programme which was geared toward helping weaker students improve their grades in preparation for CXC CSEC examinations,” Pretha said.

In addition, Pretha said that she was a part of the School’s Cadet Corp for a brief period and the school’s ISCF group. “With God all things are possible. God helped me to manage my time wisely. It was never easy for me, but with consistent prayers, persistence and total dedication to my work, I came through victoriously. I am giving all the thanks and glory to God,” she said.

Now, as Pretha moves on to advance her education, she advises that children in resource-poor settings make the best use of their technological devices, which make information available at their fingertips. “We live in a technological age but we usually have adults telling us that we’re spending too much time on these devices, but as long as we find a way to use the tool to benefit us (academically), there is nothing wrong with the use of technology,” the soft-spoken stellar youth advised.