P.S.E. winners awarded

Every year, the best and brightest students who excel in the Primary School Examinations are recognized for their intellectual achievement. And this morning, these young stars gathered at the Institute of Creative Arts where a celebration of their academic distinction took place. The top scorer along with twenty-five others received awards and scholarships to various high schools, and Minister of Education Patrick Faber took the opportunity to remind the students that excellence is the end result of smarts and hard work. Duane Moody reports.

Duane Moody, Reporting

The 2013 P.S.E. Award national ceremony celebrated the accomplishments of the youths that excelled in the Primary School Examinations held earlier this year… It was a celebration with several performances on stage. But the highlight of the event was the awards presented to some twenty-six youths as well as the recognition of several schools countrywide for topping the exams.

Patrick Faber, Minister of Education

Patrick Faber

“There are two kinds of smarts—there is the smartness which you naturally have and the smartness which comes from hard work and effort. Let me tell you that the natural smartness is not a guarantee of success. Often you need also to have the smartness that comes from hard work. Indeed there are many who may not be as naturally smart as others, but who through their hard work and effort are able to excel sometimes to a greater degree than those who are naturally smart but don’t put in the hard work. Today for the first time also recognizing schools whose performance has been outstanding nationally. Let me put some context to what we are trying to do. First, we want to give credit where credit is due. And secondly, we want to incentivize, intrinsically and extrinsically schools to improve. Therefore it is the intend that such recognition will motive other schools to improve and secondly for those who are not so intrinsically motivated, the extrinsic motivation of parental and public pressure for them to improve will come to bear.”

Top performer, Siyun Ye, and the three second place students, all got laptops. Additionally, all twenty-six young achievers will be receiving scholarships and book grants courtesy of the Ministry of Education each year for the four years of high school.

Patrick Faber

“It is always good to encourage those top performers as well and they will no doubt go on to high school and do well. In fact the twenty-six of them are receiving scholarship grants for the four years that they will be in high school and also book grants. We have to cap the award in any one year to a thousand dollars because some schools are really way up. So for the twenty-six of them, they get up to a thousand dollar grant a year for four years and they will also receive three hundred dollars book grants for the four years of high school.”

The outstanding performers are elated that they had done so well. Many of them do not have the resources and welcome the scholarships which provides them with the opportunity to a higher education.

Jennessa Sierra, 2^ndPlace, P.S.E.

Jennessa Sierra

“I was shocked at first, but now I am so happy…I don’t even know how to explain it. I didn’t know I would do so well.”

Duane Moody

“You get wah laptop, you get scholarship of go dah school…all of that. I’m like my god, what more can you get?”

Jennessa Sierra

“I’m really. I wanna say thank you for that. I really do, I really appreciate that; not many people do that for you so thanks.”

Duane Moody

“It will come in handy for high school.”

Jennessa Sierra

“For my studies, homework because I didn’t use to have a laptop, so it is going to be a big help.”

Marlina Eck, 5^thPlace, P.S.E.

Marlina Eck

“It felt good because after all the hard work I know it paid off.”

Reporter

“How did you feel when you first heard what you place and that you are here?”

Marlina Eck

“I felt excited and couldn’t believe it because I didn’t expect that I would place so high.”

There were some new features added to this year’s ceremonies including the Ubuntu Award. The recipient is Barbara Thummalapally, the wife of U.S. Ambassador, Vinai Thummalapally. As is customary, the Jane and Michael Nembhard Award was presented to Ye as most outstanding performer on the P.S.E.  Duane Moody for News Five.