-say they wanted to show their true potential

A PASSION for learning and wanting to show the capabilities and potential of students in the hinterland regions, were the driving forces behind the excellent performances recorded at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

There may be a gap in resources and opportunities available to learners on the coastland and in the hinterland, but every year, hinterland learners manage to excel.

This year, it was no different as the best performing CSEC students from each of the hinterland regions obtained impressive results in 10 or more subjects.

Leading the list is 16-year-old Akima D’Aguiar from St Ignatius Secondary in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) who gained 12 Grade Ones and two Grade Twos.

From Santa Rosa Secondary, Reah Henry was the top Region One (Barima-Waini) CSEC performer with six Grade Ones, four Grade Twos, and two Grade Threes.

Shontai DeAgrella of Three Miles Secondary in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) topped with eight Grade Ones and four Grade Twos, while Eleton Lewis of Kato Secondary was the top student of Region Eight with 10 subjects.

The Guyana Chronicle caught up with some of the students, who were overcome with excitement, not only for being able to do their school and region proud but for being able to showcase the capabilities of hinterland students once again.

For D’Aguiar, her results was a surprise, but in a good way.

“I was in quite a shock when I received my results. It was not at all what I had expected and I mean that in a pleasant way. It was also a surprise to me when I learned that I had topped the region. The thought of topping the region had not crossed my mind,” she said.

D’Aguiar does not feel limited when it comes to the opportunities that are available to her and is striving to one day become a civil engineer.
“Architecture and structural design is what captivates my interest the most. I love learning new things. It doesn’t matter what it is, I would do research on it. I like to expand my knowledge on things and be well informed,” she commented.

Hailing from Parakeese Island, Henry is all the prouder of her results given the transportation and internet challenges over the years. She is glad that through her results, persons can see the determination of hinterland students to persevere.

“It shows that people, one from Moruca, Santa Rosa, and from Parakeese Island, are so hard-working even though we are in the hinterland and don’t have as many resources as the coastlanders,” she said.

Henry had decided to do 12 subjects as a means of pushing the limits beyond what was normally expected of the students at her school.
“I wanted to give myself a challenge. Normally the students would do eight subject but I wanted to do all the subjects I’m interested in and all the subjects the school was offering and make the most of the opportunity to learn,” she told this publication.

An aspiring doctor, Henry hopes to be able to one day return to her community and share her capabilities.
DeAgrella is just glad that all of her hard work paid off. She noted that the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused school closures, really exacerbated an already challenging time of studying.

“I felt very proud of myself knowing I put a lot of work into my SBA and studying for the examination. It was really stressful. The SBAs and lab books had to be completed while covering content that we fell behind on due to school being closed down. Then some children didn’t come back to school making the group parts of SBAs such as English A difficult to complete. The teachers were helpful though,” she related.