Testing day

It was by no means easy sailing for all students who sit the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examinations (BSSEE) on Tuesday after two years of COVID-19 challenges, but many reported faring well on their tests.

When Barbados TODAY visited the Springer Memorial School just after 1 p.m., students from the Charles F Broome Memorial Primary School were hustling out of exam rooms and into the arms of their parents after what many of them described as a testing but good day.

Student Janiah Hinkson reported that the Mathematics exam was difficult.

“The Maths was kinda hard but I managed to get through it. The Grammar and Composition were okay,” she said.

Saleem Slocombe was pleased with how he did, reporting that Grammar and Composition were his strongest subjects.

“The exams today were not that hard but I made it through. Most of the questions in the Maths were easy for me, the Grammar was easy and the Composition I made it through as well. The help from the extra lessons was an amazing job because my teachers and my lessons teachers put hard work into me and they gave me great advice and helped me to make it through this exam today,” he said.

Slocombe’s mother Ingrid Ramsey, who was beaming with pride after her son completed the exams, said the period leading up to the day was a challenging one, but she placed her faith in God and remained confident in her son’s abilities.

“I feel great, I put in a lot of work,” she said. “I walked from the top of MTW every morning with my son, and I put my faith in God and say we have to make it because it’s just me and my son who live alone and it was a very long struggle . . .  as a single parent and I felt really good to see how my son felt with what he had done.”

“I put in a lot of work . . .  and at times when I felt weak, God said ‘no, you are a very strong black woman at 48 years old’,” Ramsey added.

One of the parents waiting outside the Combermere School during the morning period, Jalisa Maynard, said a lot of time and effort went into preparing her daughter for the exams.

“It was a lot of lessons, a lot of evenings helping her sit down with homework, helping her remember certain things; a lot of money because lessons are expensive but at the end of the day I think that she is going to do well,” she said.

Chazahri Drakes of the St Matthew Primary School who was on crutches on his way to the exams, told reporters that despite his injury and nervousness, he still wanted to do the exams. He said he was confident.

Dale Rowe decided to do something special for his daughter and the other Class Four students at the George Lamming Primary School, preparing a free lunch for the children and their teacher at the 11:11 Bistro in 1st Avenue Belleville, St Michael, where he is general manager.

“Myself and the CEO decided to give the form teacher and that class a complimentary lunch . . . . Mr Brewster . . . did a very great job for the past two years so we just wanted to give back to them,” he said.

Rowe said the online teaching experience was not an easy one but thanks to the help of the class teacher, he was confident in the results to come.

“For me as a parent, it was extremely difficult but we kept focus. Mr Brewster is a very good teacher. He worked with them through COVID, out of COVID, free lessons. Mr Brewster did a very good job and this is my thanks to him.”)

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb