IN a collaborative effort with residents and business owners, Calvin Roberts, an alumnus of Zeelugt Primary School on the West Coast Demerara, has recently taken the lead in celebrating the school’s extraordinary achievements.
Several pupils did well at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and Roberts, a philanthropist and Coordinator of an NGO, SMOT (Specialist Medical Outreach Team), used the opportunity to get the community involved in supporting these children and their families, and the school generally.

Of the 76 pupils who graduated on Tuesday, Roberts arranged for those who gained 400 marks and above (about 45 pupils) to receive a trophy. The best four graduating pupils – Aydan Itwaru, Piyush Sammy, Leah Gaul, and Princess Robinson – received cash prizes in addition to their trophies.
“This is a new initiative and we want to make it annual. It takes a village to raise a child,” Roberts told Guyana Chronicle. This year, he said, was particularly significant because two pupils made it into the top one percent, gaining places at Queen’s College. The school received the highest placement to date, being 16th position in the country.
“This was a resounding success for us. It was a bit emotional and when I saw it on the news and I saw we made it in the one percent, it led me to reaching out to a few persons from my year and a few business places to initiate a plan to give trophies and to award the top four pupils who gained places at senior secondary schools in Georgetown,” Roberts shared.
Roberts is grateful to all the residents and businesses who came on board to support the initiative.