Best friends Munro bound after acing PEP exam

Trevaughn Rehedul and Aedan Bailey are two halves of an equal whole, similar in everything from personality, interests, work ethics and even their achievements in the recent Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations as they placed first and second in their school and are both headed to Munro College come September.

The best friends are the toast of Bull Savannah Preparatory School in St. Elizabeth, as the entire school community is thrilled with their placement, especially since the youngsters will attend the same high school.

To hear their family’s perspective it was expected as the two boys have excelled scholastically throughout their years at preparatory school and always finish one slightly ahead of the other each academic year.

As Aedan’s mom, Janice Grizzle explained it the two are like twins in practically everything they do. “They basically grew up together and are both quiet and dedicated to their work so they are not easily distracted. They feed off of each other so they can help each other out in an area if one falls short. They are also identical in their work ethic which is why they make such good friends,” Grizzle tells Old Harbour News in an exclusive interview.

When not focused on schoolwork, they share a similar love for video games and gadgets and Aedan, who turned 12 in April of this year, said he and Trevaughn share a great bond because they just naturally like and are drawn to the same stuff. “Trevaughn is my best friend because he is quiet, focused and easy to talk to,” said Bailey who topped the school’s PEP ranking with a placement score of 381.3 or 95.3% average.

Indeed, Aedan himself can be described as a thinker and not a talker as he prefers to let his school work speak for him. No wonder mathematics is his best area of competence because “it makes me think and use my brain.”

Using one’s brain is a basic requirement to complete any task and a major examination such as PEP had most youngsters feeling the strain of taking extra classes, studying and comprehending all that was necessary to get over that hurdle. But for young Bailey, PEP was pretty straightforward as he knew he had done all the necessary preparations long before he sat the exams. “PEP wasn’t really that hard because of the practice I had in my previous class where I got some of those questions,” he said.

Listing his hobbies as reading, gaming and talking to his friends, Aedan has plans to become a doctor when he grows up as he is serious about making a contribution to his country by saving the lives of everyday Jamaicans.

For Jestine Atkins, Trevaughn’s mom, the boys who are just two months apart in age, are like two peas from the same pod because from day one they did everything together. “The boys are always on the phone revising and studying together,” Atkins said of her son who chalked up an impressive 376.3 placement score which equates to an average of 94%. “I know for Trevaughn when it comes to school work, he doesn’t play around because after school he goes over what he did during the day. And even with Covid having the impact that it did on the island in general, it really didn’t affect his studying. He would be up from 6:30 am, put his clothes together and then whatever subjects he had for the day, he would put them in order of the classes scheduled. I was overseas when he did PEP examinations and he was very settled and well prepared.”

Atkins, who is a sales supervisor said that this discipline and drive she feels was nurtured in her only child from he was just a toddler, as he started school at the tender age of two at Content Basic in Main, St. Elizabeth and right away fitted in and was able to keep up with students older than himself. She also shared that from as early as age four, he told her that he wanted to go to the all-boy Munro College, widely accepted as one of the best secondary institution in Jamaica. “He has always been gifted and is not afraid to work hard,” Atkins added. “Once when he was about four years old, he did not do well on a test and asked if I was disappointed and I told him that he can never disappoint me. However, I told him that if he really wants to attend Munro, he had to work harder to get the grades that will take him there. After that I discovered that he is good at memorising things. If you give him work, next week he can still tell you exactly what was on the paper.”

To hear it from Trevaughn, Munro was his choice simply based on the calibre of outstanding graduates that the school has produced in its 166 years of existence. “I know a lot of successful people went to Munro so I want to be as successful as them. I’m looking forward to making new friends plus I like the uniform, especially the ‘chapel suit’ jacket,” he said.

His friends’ reaction to both him and Aedan acing the PEP examination he said was one of elation but not surprise. He said: “Well, they kind of expected it.”

He too cites mathematics as his favourite subject because simply put, it challenges him and he likes that. He will most certainly be challenged by his career choice as he too wishes to become a physician.

Trevauaghn stated: “I want to be a doctor so that if any of my family and friends get sick, I can help them to recover.”

The pre-teen whose favourite book is ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’, said that he and Aedan connect on a similar wave length and level as best friends ever since they met because they understand each other perfectly.

And like they did at Bull Savannah Prep, the pair will seek to do the same at Munro.

“We bring out the best in each other,” said Trevaughn.