Gabrielle exceeds her expectations
Published:Sunday | August 26, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Gabrielle Pitter completed the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations expecting six distinctions and two credits. But when the results were released recently, its was eight distinctions for the St Andrew High School for Girls student.
According to Gabrielle, she is proud of herself for achieving success amid moments of anxiety.
"The results were to be out at nine o' clock, but we didn't get on the system until 12 or one o'clock in the morning, so you would imagine that there was a lot of tension. That ended when I saw the results, though. I was also happy for my friends because we all did exceptionally well," said Gabrielle.
The 16-year-old aced English A, English B, mathematics, information technology, biology, physics, chemistry and Spanish.
She told The Gleaner that she had to be deliberate in ensuring that she understood all the concepts, especially for subjects that she found challenging.
"To be completely honest, preparation started from grade seven. My teachers, especially in the math and English departments, always said that each concept is built on the previous one, so I was always reading ahead and trying to keep on top of my notes," said Gabrielle.
"We all get the big speech about time to settle, but for many of us, it doesn't hit us until mock exams, which are in December. For me, the anxious period was February - that was when it hit me.
"Assignments started piling up, SBAs (school-based assessments) had to be done on time, but I thank God that we had teachers who were guiding us every step of the way," added Gabrielle.
She gave credit to her teachers and parents for their guidance and indicated that her plan is to pursue the sciences in sixth form.