Nathaniel aces nine

Most Jamaican students are nervous as they wait for their Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) results, but Nathaniel Campbell did not get nervous until he found out that he had achieved nine distinctions.

"Actually, I was calm when I was going online. It is very weird because it was when I saw the results that the nerves started to kick in," said Nathaniel with a laugh.

"I was at work at about three o' clock when I checked. I tried my best to hide my emotions, but I had to get up and stretch my legs because I couldn't sit. The truth is, I was expecting all distinctions, and other persons were expecting great things from me, so I couldn't disappoint," added Nathaniel.

His success came in mathematics, English A, biology, chemistry, physics, geography, Spanish, social studies, and additional mathematics.

According to Campbell, the journey was not short of its challenges as he struggled to maintain proper time management and to meet deadlines.

"At one point, I wasn't 100 per cent confident about physics, but something worked out. I put in the work, and I was good," said Nathaniel.

"The main problem was time management because there were SBA (school-based assessment) deadlines and coursework assignments at school, so it took away from leisure time, and if I was not careful, it would have cut in on my study time. But I found a way to deal with it," said the student of the Wolmer's Boys' School.

He added, "My parents were telling me to do a timetable to organise the day, but I just couldn't do that. What I did was to try to get in at least half hour for each subject every night before I went to bed. So, coming closer to the exams, I went to bed very late."

The 16-year-old said that persons can expect great performances as he moves on to the next level.