Cheers echoed through the hallways of St Paul’s Primary School on Monday afternoon as news broke that Javanni Carmichael had emerged as the top-performing boy in this year’s Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination.
The soft-spoken but confident student, who earned a place at Queen’s College, shared his joy and gratitude with Barbados TODAY just moments after receiving the news.
“It feels amazing to pass for Queen’s College,” he said with a wide grin. “It feels amazing.”
Javanni received an outpouring of love and celebration from his schoolmates and teachers when his performance went public.
“It feels very great,” he said of the support.
Javanni explained that his decision to aim for Queen’s College was influenced by a close family connection.
“My brother goes there, and the way he described the school, it made me think it was good and I should go there.”
Looking ahead to his new school life, he’s excited to pursue his passion for football.
When asked about how he prepared for the examination, Javanni credited his father and extra lessons for giving him the edge.
“Well, my father made me go to lessons for extra preparation, and I did a little bit more revision,” he said. As for his post-results celebration? “Probably to go to a restaurant,” he added with a laugh.
He received a perfect score in English, 99 in Mathematics and a B in composition. His total converted score was 240.90.
Senior teacher Rochelle Brewster, who has been with the school since 1998, said Carmichael’s achievement marked the third time St Paul’s has produced a top student in the island under her tenure.
“I am proud of all 20 students in Class 4 Blue this academic school year,” she said. “The students put forth an immense effort this school year, despite their various challenges. And I would say that we owe that to none other than our Heavenly Father, Jehovah God, then our parents—students’ parents—and then the students themselves.”
She praised the children’s resilience and focus, noting the crucial role of teachers in keeping them steady. “Students get distracted, they get stressed, and our job as teachers, we have to keep them focused. And I think we pretty much did that. So we’re excited as we await the other results—we know those are also going to be great, but yes, we are content.”
Teacher of Class 4 Red, Teresa Chase, was equally moved by her students’ growth.
“They entered the year and they had a lot of challenges, but they put their best foot forward,” she recalled. “They kept trying and trying, regardless of what the challenges were. And I find that they attempted everything given—including the day of the exam. They did the best of their ability, so I’m very proud of them.”
She said the journey was about more than academic results.
“They were not confident at first that they could do it, but by the exam date, they had enough confidence to go in and come out and tell me, ‘Ma’am, I was able to do everything on that paper.’ That made me feel really, really proud.”
Senior teacher Mark Clarke, who led Class 4 Green, described his group of 18 students as “a family, not just a class”.
“I’m very happy with the results that my class, my 18 children, put out. We had a lot of collaboration, we had a lot of communication. And whatever they did, in my estimation, is well done,” Clarke said.
He noted that while the spotlight often shines on students this time of year, the tireless work of teachers remains largely unseen.
“We work behind the scenes, we work in front of the scenes, we do a lot,” he stressed. “We try to be the peacemakers, we try to be the ones that keep the ship going. It comes with a lot of hard kicks at times, but I do believe that the joy comes from within. And as long as the children and the parents appreciate it, that will continue to fuel us to do better results any day.”
(SZB)
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