Students relieved, hopeful after exam

As students emerged from Combermere School, one of the designated examination centres for this year’s sitting of the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE), they expressed a mixture of relief, optimism, and sense of accomplishment after months of preparation.

Kyrie Farell, a student of Lawrence T. Gay Memorial Primary School, was candid about his experience.

“Honestly, I feel real good about it, it’s just the Maths that burst my head, but the Composition and the Grammar were quite easy,” he said. “I prepared [for the exam] by going over my Compositions every day, my Maths and my Grammar. My mother told me to have faith, and my father told me to do the easy part first and then go back to the hard ones.”

Hindsbury Primary School student Jahzyah Harewood was equally upbeat. The aspiring Combermere student said the exam went smoothly overall.

“It was okay. Maths [is my favourite] subject because it’s easy and has less concepts than grammar, and it’s just easier,” she said.

In preparing for the day’s exam, she said, “I went over lessons during the week and went home and revised, [and practised with] 2024 papers.”

Her classmate Ziava Gordon, whose schools of choice are Combermere and The St Michael School, said, “The exam was good. Only one question in the Maths threw me off…. I prepared a lot by giving up my phone, spending less time with friends, spending less time on devices. Other than that, I did really good preparing.”

Rock Christian School students were equally optimistic. Tanira Bryan and Reyanne Leslie expressed confidence in their performance and shared a common goal—passing for The St Michael School.

“The exam was easy to me and I want to go to St Michael’s,” said Bryan, while Leslie added, “I found the exam very easy, but some of the Maths was kinda hard. To be honest, I really did not do much [in preparation], but I did revise a whole lot of my worksheets.”

Their teacher, Ruth Watson, was proud of the way her students handled the challenge.

“I think that the preparation went [well] as usual. We planned according to what we assessed and then we prepped with tests and time so that they would be confident and familiar with the process. The parents are always very supportive, especially at this time of the year,” she said.

Support from parents was also evident at Combermere. Shonnella Hamilton, mother of Emilie Hamilton, described the emotional contrast between herself and her daughter.

“Apart from the school work and the lessons and all the extra prepping at home, honestly, my child was just like, ‘Mummy, relax. We’re not doing anything extra. It’s just another test, and what we know we know’,” she recalled with a laugh. “She was pretty relaxed [but] I was nervous this morning. But I am happy she was that way—she lifted a burden off of my shoulders.”

Hamilton also mentioned that celebrations were planned for later that evening, as students and parents looked forward to marking the end of the exam period in style.

“She’s going to Bubba’s with her classmates later, but we have a bit extra for her… we are travelling tomorrow,” she added, smiling.
(SB)