-hopes to inspire others, boost school’s image

CONSIDERED a low performing school given its less than average pass rate, it is almost never expected that students of the St. George’s High School would be successful at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

This year, however, aspiring entrepreneur, Beyonce Wyatt, defied all odds when she secured good grades in the seven subjects she wrote.

While her four Grade Ones, two Grade Twos and a Grade Three, is being celebrated as a “big achievement,” she hopes that her performance would encourage other students and boost the image of the school.

“I don’t think that St George’s is deserving of the reputation that it gets. It’s a good school. Like every other school there are occasions where there may be a mishap. But we have hard working students and equally hard working teachers,” Wyatt shared, in a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

She related that notwithstanding students at the school only being offered seven subjects, they put in just as much work as students at any other secondary school and deserve to be celebrated for their accomplishments.

“I feel that we did something great. Me and my fellow classmates. We worked every day, working late into the night, working with our teachers, going over everything that could come in the exam,” Wyatt explained.

Of the 30 students who wrote the exams this year, Wyatt was the only one who got acceptable grades in Mathematics and English, subjects critical for matriculation.

Notwithstanding that, Wyatt is very proud of her fellow students, many of whom she has seen develop over the years and who would have made an effort to take their education seriously.

“When we got to Fifth Form [Grade 10] everyone got so serious. I saw that everyone was working hard. Sometimes they would come to me for help and I would go to them for help. St George’s High has children who are willing to work and teachers who are willing to work with the students, and even though they might not show the interest at first, we can build and work hard,” she said.

Wyatt, herself was somewhat apprehensive when the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) released the results on October 15. But then she got her results and was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Before I got the results, I was so scared. So, when I got it, I was very relieved. I felt very proud of myself. I did better than I expected because at times I didn’t feel like I was ready for the exam. I thought it could’ve gone either way for me, so I’m just glad all my hard work paid off,” she expressed.

DILIGENT AND DEDICATED
Describing Wyatt as a diligent and dedicated student, teachers at the school are also happy to see that her hard work has paid off.

“We are elated but not surprised. She is a student that was always determined ever since she joined the school. She was always this dedicated student. We knew that she could do it,” commented Deputy Headteacher at the school, Veronica Perreira.

Entering St George’s High from Grade Nine after transferring from the Three Miles Secondary when she moved to the city from Bartica, Wyatt is said to have always been a standout student. From the get-go teachers knew she would one day make them all proud.

“She is an excellent team player,” the school’s Headteacher, Lavern Carryl said.

“She was kind to her fellow students, respectful to her teachers and never backed down from a challenge. She was a model student. We have always believed in Beyonce’s potential to excel,” the proud headteacher added.

For Perreira, one particular trait that stood out about Wyatt, was her insistence to inspire her peers. She noted that after Wyatt entered the school and teachers noted her potential, she was offered an opportunity to be moved into a higher performing class, but instead wanted to stay where she was and work along with her classmates.

“She said no. She saw after a few weeks that she was motivating the others in the class…She would always show such leadership qualities,” Perriera said.

Wyatt hopes to one day open her own series of businesses. She noted that she’s currently working on developing her own graphic design business, but also hopes to one day develop a number of other business ideas she has.