QUEEN’S COLLEGE’S Bhedesh Persaud for the third consecutive year has topped the country in one of the regional examinations. This year, he obtained 14 grade ones and a grade three, the most by a Guyanese student at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

Persaud was followed by Vish Kistama of Berbice High School, who attained 10 grade ones and one grade two. Saraswati Vidya Nakitan’s Atishta Seenarine finished with nine grade ones and Trenny Edwards of St Stanislaus College earned six grade ones, three grade twos and threes and one grade four.

Guyana’s preliminary results for CAPE were announced on Monday by Education Minister, Priya Manickchand during a ceremony at the Anna Regina Multilateral School, Region Two.
Persaud’s outstanding performance came as no surprise to him.

“It’s a very humbling feeling to know that all the hard work has continued to pay off over the last few years,” he said.
The aspiring civil engineer shared that he now plans to spend the next year taking a break before proceeding to university in 2023.

Persaud was the country’s top CAPE student in 2021 in his first year in Sixth Form. Then, he obtained eight grade ones and a grade two. He was also the country’s top student at the 2020 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, obtaining 22 grade ones and a grade two

He was also among the country’s top 10 pupils at the 2015 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).
Persaud credited his outstanding academic performance to his wide-ranging support system.

“I can’t credit it to one person. I credit it to God, my parents, my family, my teachers, my friends, my mentors, there’s a long list of persons. A whole lot of persons would’ve helped me along the way,” he said.
Persaud is advising students, who are now preparing to write their CAPE and CSEC, to ensure they put in the necessary hard work.

“As it is the beginning of an academic year, to all students I would say use the next nine months to really think about what you want and commit yourself to getting that. You might have to sacrifice a few things but it’s worth the sacrifice,” the 18-year-old said.

A total of 671 candidates in Guyana registered to write CAPE this year across 12 secondary schools and four private centres. This year marked the first year that CAPE was written at centres in Regions Two and Three.
Guyana saw a pass rate of 93.22 per cent, a marked increase over the 90.86 per cent pass rate recorded last year.