Kenly Young from St. Andrew’s Shines in P.S.E.
A total of seven thousand three hundred and ninety-two students registered for the 2016 Primary School Examinations of which seven thousand two hundred and thirty-five candidates sat the exams. The top twenty-five students are a mix bag, most of them representing the district schools. This year, Kenly Young of Saint Andrews’s School in San Ignacio tied with Angelina Urbina. Young is understandably happy with her performance. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Of the seven thousand three hundred plus students that sat the 2016 Primary School Exams, thirteen year old Kenly Young of Saint Andrew’s Anglican Primary School tied for the top spot of the exams, receiving three hundred and ninety-one of the four hundred points. The standard six student remains overjoyed today that she has made her family and school proud.
Kenly Young
Kenly Young, Top Scorer, P.S.E. 2016
“I still couldn’t like really believe it until I say my name on the news and the picture and I was like oh my god, I can’t believe that I just topped like seven thousand children. The most important thing is believing in yourself because if you believe in yourself then you know that you can overcome any barrier, any battle that comes your way. And then of course you have to work hard, you have to study, you have to listen to your teacher and make sure that you are on top.”
Her mother is just as proud. Terry Young says that she expected Kenly to do well because she came in first in her class every year for the past eight years. But she made sure that Kenly got the support she needed.
Terry Young
Terry Young, Mother of Top Scorer
“I was so happy. I was expecting but not first place. I was at the market when my husband called and I was just screaming…my daughter came in first. It was an exciting moment. She deserved it. I wanna big up St. Andrews School…all the teachers, the staff of St. Andrews School who did an exceptional job with this 2016 class because they really did a great job preparing them for this sweet victory.”
Std 6 Teacher, St. Andrew’s Anglican Primary School
“It’s God’s unmerited favor towards us. This year, he really looked at our girls and said it is their time. They were born for this day and we give God all the honor. We start very early. Sometimes we are here from quarter to seven; we leave very late. Our principal has to go up and chase us home. We don’t leave anyone behind. We use our same students to help out the ones who are behind and we drag everybody with us.”
Saint Andrew’s Anglican Primary School has consistently been excelling. Since 2013, every year it has received an award of recognition for best overall performance in category one of the P.S.E. and it has once again received a hundred percent passes. Principal Gutierrez says that it’s their hard work paying off.
Sharee Gutierrez
Sharee Gutierrez, Principal, St. Andrew’s Anglican Primary School
“We’ve been on the top twenty-five list year after year, year after year. We’ve come really close; we’ve been second but we have never been number one. So it is giving the world a chance to see that we at Saint Andrew’s are working hard. We have been working, we have intervention plans from infant one working all the way up to Standard Six; we don’t leave anybody behind. So if it means that our teachers are here when all the other schools are closed, we are here working. If it means that we have to drop a child home because he didn’t do his homework or he hasn’t done a project; we will buy the materials we will take you home. If we have to feed you, we will feed you. We will do whatever it takes to make sure that our children succeed.”
Four other students made it on the top twenty-five list. Thirteen year old Ranai Gonzales tied for fourth with a student from Belize Elementary School, while classmates Gabrielle Mas, Rhiannon Figueroa and Leila Duarte tied for the twenty-second spot.
Ranai Gonzales
Ranai Gonzales, 4th Place, P.S.E. 2016
“I felt excited; I couldn’t believe it. I thought that I was dreaming when they told me, but it was true.”
Duane Moody
“What was your secret to excelling?”
Ranai Gonzales
“I listened in class; I studied hard. I believed in myself—like Kenly said—you have to believe in yourself and then we pushed ourselves to the best of our abilities.”
Leila Duarte
Leila Duarte, 22nd Place, P.S.E. 2016
“It’s just really that you put in the work and you pay attention in class and be attentive in class and try to pick up everything to the best of your ability in class. And just study, but not study too much because sometimes you tend to forget some stuff and all you gotta do is like believe in yourself like the girl said earlier and that’s basically how I tried to relax when taking the exam.”
Gabrielle Mas
Gabrielle Mas, 22nd Place, P.S.E. 2016
“I came in twenty-second and I am really happy that I came in twenty-second because there are over seven thousand children in the country, so I feel good that I came in twenty-second.”
Duane Moody
“What was your strategy going into the exam?”
Gabrielle Mas
“Well I had to study hard and to be honest, I had to stay back a lot and I had lot of tutors to help me get through.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
