Lacovia Primary top student Hampton-bound
Published:Wednesday | June 22, 2011 | 12:00 AM
André Gordon, Gleaner Writer
LACOVIA, St Elizabeth:
THE VERY anxious mother of four paced the staff room of the Lacovia Primary School an hour before the results arrived; the secretary answered every call with a sense of anticipation.
Upstairs, the grade six students peeked through the window every time a car drove into the schoolyard. The entire school community was in Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) panic mode on Monday as the principal drove into the schoolyard, armed with the 2011 results.
It was a scene of jubilation as the compound was transformed into a carnival-like atmosphere, parents converged on the school compound, students streamed into the corridors as anxious teachers rushed to the staff room to get a first look at the GSAT results.
Beverly Bromfield, mother of Leonecia Bromfield, head girl at the school, broke down in tears when she heard that her daughter had passed for her first choice Hampton School. "Am just thanking God," she said.
When The Gleaner news team finally caught up with star pupil Leonecia, she was surrounded by her admiring peers, many of whom had also got into the schools of their choice. "I am ecstatic and thrilled to be going to Hampton, it is one of the best schools, and I am looking forward to going there," she told The Gleaner.
Excellent grades
Bromfield who is also a grade four teacher at the school said she was not going to allow her daughter to sit the GSAT this year.
"She wasn't supposed to do the GSAT this year, but her grades were in the 90s, and, after consultation with the guidance counsellor and the principal, I decided to allow her to do it," she told The Gleaner
"She will be 12 in August, so I had intended to keep her until next year, in fact I had applied to the ministry for a deferral, but withdrew the request after reviewing her average.
When questioned about the studying habits of her daughter, the very proud mother said Leonecia made her own timetable and spent most days studying. "She is up as early as 3:00 o' clock some mornings."