5th form was Jeremy's comeback year

Coming from what he described as a 'brutal' year in fourth form, Jeremy Farr said his outstanding performance in the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate was even more rewarding.

Farr gained grade one in all eight subjects he took. The subjects were additional mathematics, Spanish, history, English literature, chemistry, mathematics and English language.

"Fourth form was probably my worst year. Coming into fifth form, I was wondering how I was going to recover from all of that. Every other year, I topped the year group at least once and was among the top five throughout. I started out well and, from there, it just went downhill. The grades were good, but not my usual best, and it was a little cause for concern," said the Wolmer's Boys' School student.

"I used to be in the 90s, high 80s, and at one point I fell to 79 per cent. I honestly wanted to give up and was wondering if fifth form could have been my comeback year. And fifth form has been the most rewarding year so far," he said.

The 16-year-old said he also had to master the art of balancing sports and academics - a journey he said sometimes made him want to give up.

A BIT OF COMPLACENCY

"I would say maybe it was a bit of complacency on my part (fourth form) and maybe track and field as well, and being lazy. However, I started to take things seriously, so after training I would study something most nights," he told The Gleaner.

"I'm very much into sports, so Wolmer's is ideal. For me, it was very good. I was respected by students and teachers alike. There was some level of pressure, in addition to the fact that it was my final year for class two (track and field), which means it was my standout year."