ELEVEN-year-old Kia Persaud of the West Ruimveldt Primary School in Georgetown is this year’s top student at the Secondary Schools Entrance Examination (SSEE).
She gained 558 marks out of a possible 563 at the exams.
She was closely followed by Raadhesh Ramsurup of the Taymouth Manor Primary on the Essequibo Coast who scored one mark less.
Persaud was among some 17,000 candidates throughout the country between the ages of 10 and 12 years who wrote the examinations on April 7 and 8, last.
Others in the top group are Anita Wilson of the St. Margaret Primary School who gained 556 marks, Natalia Gonzalez of the New Guyana School with 552, another West Ruimveldt student, Lisa Marie Baksh with 551 marks, Roberta Ferguson of West Ruimveldt with 550, Devindra Persaud of the same school with 549, Robyn Thomas of the Concord Academy with 549, Stefan Wong of Stella Maris, Geresh Bissessar of C.V. Nunes, Subraj Singh of Leonora and Kereene Montague of the Greenwich Park Primary, who all gained 550 marks each.
When the Chronicle visited the home of Kia Persaud at Lot 252 Quamina Street, Georgetown, she was basking in the glory with her proud parents.
She credits her excellent performance to her parents, her teachers and most of all God.
She said that intense studying for her exams began several months before and she is extremely excited with her results.
The future writer said that she could not really explain her emotions at being the best in the country. She will be attending Queen’s College later this year.
Proud parents Navindra Persaud and Mala Hardeen Persaud said that although they expected their daughter to perform well, her topping the country still came as a shock.
“She has been consistently doing well and we feel elated with her success”, the mother said.
Like most students writing examinations, Kia took extra lessons from her class teacher, Mr. Wilfred Success, since she began attending the school last May.
The West Ruimveldt Primary was the pick of the schools this year, with 10 students placing in the top 100, seven of them in the top 10, according to Success.
He said the school was “extremely pleased” with their performance at the examinations.
From their success it is quite evident that the hard work and emphasis placed into preparing the students have paid off tremendously, the proud teacher said.
According to Success who has been teaching at the school for the past 15 years, in recent times the school gained the top spots in 1999, 2001 and 2002.
Another successful student from the West Ruimveldt School was Roberta Ferguson who gained 550 marks and came in 7th.
She said she is quite overwhelmed by her performance and is looking forward to attending the school of her dreams – Queen’s College in a few months.
Ferguson, 11, of Lot 65 Graham Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, credits her success to her parents, teachers and God.
Davindra Persaud, who gained 548 marks, said that he is quite pleased with his performance “because I have achieved what I planned to do”.
He said he has been attending the West Ruimveldt Primary School for the past four years and thanked God for his success.
The aspiring medical doctor also said that he is eager to be attending Queen’s College.
Some 125 students from school out of Georgetown, including the C.V Nunes Primary, the Riverstown Primary and the Good Hope Primary, are eligible for a spot at President’s College in the new school term.
Last year’s top student was Catherina Gonsalves who was a student of the St. Margaret’s Primary School.