When Trey Jones started preparing for the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exams in Standard Three, the Nelson Street Boys’ RC School pupil’s average percentage was not enough for him to pass for the secondary school he wanted to attend.
“He was afraid to be in front. He was like, ‘mommy, I cannot do it. I cannot make in my 70s’,” his mother Cleopatra Jones explained yesterday.
But with an extra push from both his parents and teacher (Mr Phillip) Trey, an aspiring brain surgeon, passed for his first choice, St Mary’s College.
“He (Phillip) saw what I couldn’t see. He wants him to be a doctor and he wants him to get an open scholarship in St Mary’s. He believed in Trey and everything paid off,” Cleopatra cried as she spoke about Trey’s teacher.
Cleopatra said she was too nervous to collect the results herself yesterday, so she asked a colleague.
“I started to get anxiety and panic attack,” she said.
Now that Trey has passed for his first choice, she will do everything in her power to support him.
Trey is grateful for that.
“Thanks for supporting me all these years, always being with me, helping me, pushing me for everything and praying for me,” Trey said.
Nelson Street Boys’ RC School principal Frances Gervais-Heath said the students performed well this year despite the challenges brought on by online schooling. She thanked all the donors for their contributions of devices to less fortunate students.
At the Mucurapo Girls’ Roman Catholic School in St James, Amaya Cleary’s mother Nakia St Hilaire was in tears after finding out her daughter passed for her first choice, Providence Girls’ Catholic School.
“I prayed for this for her, we worked with her, I am overly ecstatic,” St Hilaire said.
Cleary’s schoolmates Arianna Ali and Jade Sinanan also passed for the schools of their choice, St Francois Girls’ College and Bishop’s Centenary College respectively.
Their principal, Mrs Brito-Bernard, said she was proud of her girls.
“We know it was a lot of pressure for them, a lot of concerns, we know the work was a lot but they have achieved,” she said.
The celebratory atmosphere was also felt at St Theresa Girls’ RC School in Woodbrook, when Tishanna Chapman and her mother Marsha found out she passed for St Joseph’s Convent.
“I want to cry. I’ve been so nervous all day. I am so proud of myself,” Tishanna said.
Her schoolmates Caitlyn Dunning, Xakoya Davis and Arianna Charles also passed for colleges of their choice.
“My belly was twirling,” Dunning said.
The students admitted that online classes posed some challenges this year but said they persevered and thanked their teachers for the non-stop support.
“They worked very hard to make all the students do well, especially my teacher Mrs Francis, she was one of the best teacher’s I’ve ever had,” one student said.
For father Keron Moraldo, his son Kiron entering secondary school is breaking what he called a generational cycle. His son passed for Mucurapo West Secondary School.
“I finish school in Standard Four. I know you could do great things. You don’t have to go to a college to get that,” he said with tears in his eyes.
Moraldo said the pandemic made school for his son difficult but he pulled through.
