Old Harbour Bay Primary’s top PEP performers score big

The 12- year-old could not contain his joy at his achievement as he shared that throughout the year, other students got higher grades so he was rather pleased at his accomplishment that came after months of relentless preparation.

“Yes, I was very surprised to hear that I was the top boy,” he tells Old Harbour News. “My friends and family were all excited and ran to congratulate me and I felt great. I can’t say that I had a set strategy or a study routine, I just did what I had to do.” 

PEP was not as challenging as he thought it would be, he said, but is extremely grateful to have copped a place at his first choice Glenmuir High School in Clarendon.

“I can’t really say that I like to study and thankfully the PEP exams were not that hard for me,” he adds.

His success, he said, is partially due to all the extra online lessons his teacher held in the evening – from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm – to ensure that all students were properly scaffolded and prepared for what some considered to be arguably the biggest academic litmus test for over 40,000 Jamaican children each year. Baker, whose hobbies include running and gaming, said that for him Mathematics is the subject that speaks to him the most in terms of his preference as it cuts to the catch and there can be no misconstruing if the answer is correct or not. “Maths is definitely my favourite also because I love numbers and I just love to add,” he said after recording a placement score of 326.2 or 90.6% overall average. 

When it comes to his future aspirations and career choice, it is all about football for this Cristiano Ronaldo fan. “I love watching him play as his style of football is just amazing. I play football as well and hope to get as good as he is one day. That’s why when I grow up I either would be a footballer or a real estate agent,” said the youngster.

For his proud father Clarence Baker, Nemiah has always performed well, but he too was beside himself at his son’s extraordinary accomplishment. “I expected him to do well because to tell you the truth from he was in basic school the teacher told his mother that if he continues this way, Old Harbour High School nah go see him as he had the potential for great things,” he said.
Baker, who is a fisherman by trade and lives in Old Harbour Bay, said that his boy has always been a student who loves school work.

“He takes it seriously,” he emphasized. “I was at the graduation and happened to peep on the list on the programme and that is how I learnt he was the top boy. I was so excited that I ran on stage and gave him a big hug.  I don’t know what Father God has in store for him but I just want to see him excel in all of his endeavours.”

For the top girl Alexia Fagan, her motivation was to be in a different, more unique learning environment, hence an excellent traditional high school in Kingston and St. Andrew was her goal so she had set her sights on Campion College. However, she was selected for St. Hugh’s High School and is pleased as she was not expecting all the bells and whistles that go along with being a top performer.

“I feel good because though I wouldn’t say I study for hours and hours every day, I had put in the work to be successful,” said Baker whose 91% (327.9 placement score) average made her the top performing student in the school.

Fagan, who recently turned 12, reflected that though the PEP exam was not difficult, she was very careful, taking her time to answer each question.

She said: “It wasn’t hard but some of the questions were tricky, especially in the maths segment. I think I balance schoolwork and my downtime well but sometimes homework can get a little overwhelming due to the sheer volume of it but I just breathe and do one task at a time.”

The Old Harbour Bay resident said, drawing, reading and writing are her hobbies and as to what she wants to be when she grows up, she has her sights set on either being a lawyer or a pediatrician.

Alexis’ mother, Michelle Wright-Fagan, said her daughter’s recent achievement surprised her as she had never topped her class before.

“From grade one coming up, she never came first in her class though she always got good grades. Her class has always had a lot of competition to get top grades,” said the mother of the third of her three children. “Having said that, she has always been a focused child and not one that you have to tell to pick up her book.  She is self-motivated and she did not want to go to Old Harbour High as she said she wanted to be in a new learning environment.  I remember her telling me ‘Mommy I want to make history at my school’ and she did.”

Wright-Fagan who is a dressmaker, along with her husband Lennox, who is a member of the Jamaica Defence Force, are proud parents who know that if she stays on course, the sky is the limit for Alexis.

“I want her to achieve all of her dreams. I really want her to be a better version of me,” said Wright-Fagan.