By Naomi Marshall
BRITNEY PETERS of One Mile Primary School has secured the top spot for Region 10 at this year’s sitting of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), and is also in the sixth position on the national top-ten list.

Peters secured 521 marks out of 528 and was awarded a place at Queen’s College.
The aspiring doctor related to Guyana Chronicle that, while she did not expect to be among Guyana’s top performers, she is extremely happy that her hard work and sacrifices paid off.

Fourteen other pupils from the mining town of Linden have also made the country’s top one percent list. They are: Shanel Storm of Amelia’s Ward Primary and Ariel Mohanlall of Royal Halls of Learning with 519 marks; Kesyne Bagot of One Mile Primary with 517 marks; Jasmine Griffith of Watooka Day Primary with 516 marks; Yohance October of Regma Primary, along with Syesha Fraser and Kenroy Jameer of One Mile Primary with 515 marks; Rheann Retemyer of Watooka Day Primary and Shania Lawson of Regma Primary with 513; Dimetra Gordon of Wismar Hill Primary, Ashley Inniss of Amelia’s Ward Primary and Jenesia Rodney of Watooka Day Primary with 512 and Troquan Edwards and Breon Marks of Regma Primary with 511 marks.
An elated Jasmine Griffith, who copped the fifth position in Region 10, noted that she did a great job studying and preparing for the NGSA, along with the help of her teachers and relatives and that resulted in her success.

The young scholar, who always dreamt of attending the prestigious Queen’s College, advised future NGSA pupils to study hard.
Sharing her secret to success was twelve-year-old, Jenesia Rodney. Rodney, who secured the thirteenth spot for the Region noted that during quarantine, her teachers would have put measures in place to have online classes. She said she also did personal studying, which included reading books and watching YouTube videos to get a better understanding of topics.

In an invited comment, Grade Six Teacher of the Watooka Day Primary, Diann Retemyer said she was confident that the pupils would have performed well. She is also the mother of Rheann Retemyer, who was one of the region’s top performers.

The teacher told this publication that after schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grade Six teachers of the Watooka Day Primary would have connected with the pupils via WhatsApp and Zoom. This, she added, kept pupils gainfully occupied during the period they were home.
Retemyer noted that it was also a new experience for the teachers and, despite the challenges, they worked with the pupils to ensure that they were prepared for the assessment.