Tahirah Martin surprises herself with 96.2% average

Martin, who was deputy head girl at Marlie Mount Primary, confessed that she is not much of a studier, just a fairly good student. So when she saw the grade she received it threw her for a loop.

“I was happy to the point that I cried at one time… It is not like I doubted myself, but knowing that I don’t normally get a score that high but I get high grades so it was kind of an exciting moment,” the 12-year-old told Old Harbour News in an interview.

She recalled her experience sitting the exam in February.

“On the day I was really nervous, I didn’t know if I was going to pass, I didn’t know if I was going to do well. But when I went into the exam room and I looked over the paper, I was like ‘God I need to pass this exam. Just make me pass this exam, even if I don’t pass it with flying colours just make me pass this exam’. When I finished the exam I was saying, ‘this exam nuh that hard man’, but it wasn’t easy at the same time.”

When she found out that she had passed for her preferred school, it gave her a truly satisfying feeling.

“That was the school I always dreamed of going, because of the academics and also because of the extra-curricular as well. And it’s a school that I’m familiar with,” she said.

The future paediatric surgeon and teacher said she is most interested in getting involved with Glenmuir’s wide range of extra-curricular activities.

“What I am really looking forward to is the extra-curricular, speech and drama, 4H and yes I am looking forward to the academics but not really that much,” she told us.

Martin, who was voted top girl at her school in the past, was a member of the school’s debate team, its primary school’s challenge quiz team, played netball, and is involved in both the 4H and speech and drama clubs.

Martin’s mother, Babet Ellis, was also taken aback a little by her daughter’s performance in the exam, admitting that she hadn’t foreseen such a high grade.

“Jeezam peez I was like, ‘Really God?’ I mean you want your child to pass and do well, but when you see it on the paper I was like, ‘really?’ I mean it’s a good feeling,” said Ellis.

“My daughter, she is smart, but she nuh love study, But when you give her something to do and she has the concept and she understands exactly what she is doing she’s going to get it. She is smart so for her passing for Glenmuir, I wasn’t surprised.”

Ellis says she had some fears over her daughter’s preparation because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but she was confident she could overcome them. She compounded her optimism with a healthy dose of prayer as well. Once her daughter gets to high school, Ellis said she expects Tahirah to continue her tradition of doing well.

“Like I always tell her the sky is the limit… don’t limit yourself. There is always room for growth,” said Ellis.

Martin’s teacher Nickesia Jackson-Harris was full of praise for her student’s achievement.

“Tahirah is an excellent student, she is a rounded student, she is focused, she always tries to get her work done and she tries to accept challenges. And it is very motivating to know that she is going to a school of her choice,” Jackson-Harris said of her former student.

Come September Glenmuir High school will welcome another student into the fold to carry on the proud traditions of the over 70-year-old institution. And Tahirah Martin is anxiously looking forward to the challenge.