THE excitement could not be contained as pupils from across the country listened to the Ministry of Education’s announcement of the results of this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).

The results were televised, live, from the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Friday.
Even through the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted face-to-face learning, pupils on the coastland, and those in the hinterland communities worked tirelessly to secure top marks at the secondary school placement exam.

Based on this year’s results, hinterland pupils continue to show their commitment to excellence, copping places at several top schools, including Queen’s College, The Bishops’ High School, St. Stanislaus College, St. Rose’s High School, and St. Joseph’s High.

During the NGSA announcement ceremony, it was disclosed that Region Nine (Upper Takutu – Upper Essequibo) resident, Aisha De Freitas, who attained 517 marks, got the top score for the hinterland.

De Freitas, of the Arapaima Primary School, was awarded a place at Queen’s College. She expressed excitement at the announcement, noting that she was “ecstatic” not just to have gotten a place at one of the top public secondary schools in the country, but because she excelled despite several challenges.

According to her older sister, De Freitas changed schools at the end of the Grade Five school year, in an effort to access trained teachers, and better her chances at excelling at the exam, which is written annually.

De Freitas told the Guyana Chronicle that while the move was really hard, since she was away from her parents and friends, the support from her sister allowed her to settle in comfortably into her new surroundings.

She stated that she quickly became focused on the goal, which was to get “a town school” to give her a better chance at getting a quality education.

She stated that her results have shown that the hard work and sacrifice has paid off. She noted that she hopes it will be an inspiration to other hinterland children that they can achieve anything they set out to do.

Keeping up the trend of hinterland excellence was Troy Roberts, who is the top performer for Region One (Barima-Waini). Roberts, who attended Port Kaituma Primary School, attained a total score of 508 marks, and was awarded a place at The Bishop’s High School.
He described his performance as “a big achievement” for his entire family.

Roberts noted that while he did make sacrifices, he, like many of his peers, struggled with committing to consistent studying.
“For me, I had late nights and early mornings. Sometimes I used to get ‘vex’ but then I realised it’s something good, and I just keep doing it. And I’d advise other students that are writing the exam next year to put away all the games, and focus a bit on school for the time. Also, if they feel like giving up, just think that it’s a few more days, and this won’t last forever,” said Roberts.

He further noted that his parents played a significant part in his success, adding that his family made significant sacrifices to ensure that he was prepared for the exam, since he was unable to have access to face-to-face learning because of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni)’s top performer, Sabastian Khan, who secured a place at the St. Joseph’s High School with 495 marks, told the Guyana Chronicle that the key to his success was “finding a balance.”

He explained that he did not want to burn out himself by focusing too much on studying, but at the same time, he did not want to waste too much time slacking off. This is where he and his parents designed a system so that he could do both, he said.

“For me, I didn’t do deep studying; I studied piece by piece to grasp more of everything, and I knew what time worked for me. So I didn’t study in the morning, because I’m not a morning person, but I’d study in the night and late in the afternoon. For me, studying was not the only thing I did. Sometimes I played; I relaxed. We used to play cricket and go to the beach, so I had that balance between studying and leisure,” said Khan.

He noted that even though he was a student from a hinterland region, he did not allow that to stop him from achieving the goals he previously set, which, according to him, was to do his “very best”.

Region Nine’s second and third best performers, Kellon Jordon and Leandro Marcello, also spoke to the Guyana Chronicle.
They noted that while they are happy with their performance, they are already thinking about their future as secondary school students.
Jordan secured 507 marks, while Marcello got 505, and they were both awarded a spot at The Bishops’ High School.

Both boys are planning to attend the city school, and are already anticipating what the change will be like.