West Terrace Primary pupil seventh best in nation on 11+ exam

Tazara Griffith, a public primary school student among the top performers in the Common Entrance Examination, has a recipe for success.

Griffith, who placed seventh overall in the exam, declared that the hard work and dedication she put in through the years at West Terrace Primary is the reason her dream of attending Queen’s College has come through.

During an interview with Barbados TODAY at her St Lucy home, Griffith, who scored 97 in English and 99 in Mathematics and an A in Composition, said since she entered primary school, she has always worked towards academic excellence. She has consistently received good grades and has won several class prizes.

The 11-year-old, who made it on the school’s Honour Roll last year said she is not only proud of her performance but also overjoyed that her 31 classmates also passed the examination.

Some 16 students in Griffith’s class, taught by veteran teacher Maureen Branch, passed for Queen’s.

She added: “When I first heard that I was in the top ten I was so surprised; I was like what. I knew I would do good because I have been doing well in classes consistently, but I wasn’t looking to get in the top ten, neither was my mom, but I am very happy that I am getting to go to my dream school Queen’s College. I just feel very happy, like anybody should.”

The West Terrace alumna insisted that preparing for the examination was no easy feat. She explained that in addition to class work, she also took extra lessons and participated in study sessions with her peers.

Throughout her primary school journey, she also participated in extracurricular activities and declared herself a proud Brownie.

She told Barbados TODAY: “I had a good Class Four teacher in Mrs Branch. She taught me and the class very well, so she contributed to my success. I want to thank all the people who helped me during my primary school life, including my family, my friends, my grandparents and especially my mom who was very excited when she heard my name in the top ten.”

Tazara’s mother Shareba Griffith, a teacher at St Leonard’s School, said while it is being reported that students at private schools continue to outperform those at public schools in the annual examinations, teachers at public schools should be commended for the hard work they continuously put in to preparing students.

Griffith commended Tazara’s teacher for ensuring that despite the disruption to last school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, her students were well-prepared for the examination.

Shareba Griffith said: “She did an excellent job in light of COVID-19 knowing that situation was very challenging. At one point they didn’t even know if there was going to be an exam and then they didn’t know the date. But, she did not take a break. All through the Easter vacation she did work with them and even before the official start of the third term they were doing work.

“So I want to commend all of the students in Tazara’s class. I also want to thank my friend Sonia who is a teacher at Half Moon Fort Primary for giving Tazara free lessons every Saturday and that helped Tazara a lot.”

She said she was very proud of her daughter who has always been dedicated and committed to doing her school work. She said she never once had to remind Tazara that it is time to do study.

Griffith said: “She would call her friends and they would use their devices to actually video call and do work and they would actually even set up their own Google meets and they wanted to pass for Queen’s College and they did. I always tell Tazara to aim for the moon and even if you don’t reach it you would fall among the stars. And now she is a star.”

(anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)