PoS SCHOOLS CELEBRATE

From as early as 10 am yesterday, students and parents arrived at several schools in and around Port-of-Spain to collect their official results slips for the exams written during the months of April to July.

At Fatima College, Mucurapo Road, anxious pupils waited outside the school’s auditorium as administrative staff prepared results for distribution.

Business student Randall Raphael squealed with excitement after discovering he had attained five distinctions in Mathematics, English Language, Principles of Business, Principles of Accounts and Spanish. He also received a grade II in English Literature and Physics. He said the exams were challenging but because of the help of God, his parents and teachers, he was able to score such high marks at CXC. “God and my parents were very instrumental in helping me to become a success.”

He told Newsday he was in the process of obtaining his driver’s licence and hoped his parents would reward him with a vehicle. His father, John Raphael said, “It is a fair request and would be considered by both myself and his mother.”

Gregg Pinheiro of Queen’s Royal College (QRC), Port-of-Spain, did not hesitate to call his parents from his cell phone after receiving results yesterday indicating he had attained five distinctions in Mathematics, English, Principles of Accounts, Physics and Geography. Pinheiro additionally attained a Grade B and C in General Certificate of Examination (GCE) Additional Mathematics and Economics, respectively.

The young man told Newsday he was nervous throughout the examination period and did not expect to receive so many distinctions. “I was surprised when I first looked at my results, but I did work hard,” he said.

Pinheiro said he planned to further his studies in Physics at Advanced Level at the school and hoped to receive cash rewards from his parents.

DeVane Samuel, another QRC scholar, was ecstatic that he received five distinctions in Chemistry, English, Mathematics, Physics and Technical Drawing and a Grade A in GCE Additional Mathematics. He told Newsday he plans to become a Chemical Engineer in the future.

Mathematics and Physics teacher, Sheldon Whiteman, spent most of yesterday beaming with pride over the success of his students at Providence Girls’ Catholic High School, Belmont.

Whiteman, who has been a teacher at the school for the past six years, told Newsday his mathematics class was a bit of a challenge at the beginning of the 2005/2006 academic year. He said he tried several methods of teaching the subjects to the girls, who gradually showed positive results at the end of the academic year. He noted that the majority of his students received distinctions a grade II in Mathematics and Physics.

“Today I feel very proud of my students and their success,” he said. Jubilant student, Raquel Moreau, burst into tears after receiving her results slip yesterday at Providence High School. Moreau received eight distinctions in Mathematics, English, Biology, Food and Nutrition, English Literature, French, Principles of Accounts and Principles of Business. Moreau said she had expected to fail most of her subjects since she did not feel confident during exams.

She told Newsday, four nights ago she dreamt her class mate, Ayannah, had received eight distinctions and thought that was “a sign of doom” for her.

Moreau has her eyes set on attaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Culinary Arts at Johnson and Wales University, Florida.

Up to yesterday afternoon, principals of several secondary schools in and around Port-of-Spain were unable to release statistics on their schools’ performance in this year’s CXC Ordinary Level exams. However, most of them told Newsday, the statistics would be ready by today.