By Admin. Updated 8:46 p.m., Sunday, June 23, 2024, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
In a show of brilliance, a 10-year-old student from the rural North Leeward community of Spring Village is one of three to have attained a perfect score in mathematics at the 2024 Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment.
The student – Mr. Sonjay Lewis is from the Spring Village Methodist School. He also placed 11th for Boys, and 17th overall in the 2024 CXC-administered Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA).
The other two students to have recorded perfect scores in mathematics are Ethan Richard Kent of the Sugar Mill Academy and Kyssondria Scott of the South Rivers Methodist School.
One News SVG contacted Sonjay through his mother and he shared how he feels about the achievement.
“I feel extremely happy and proud of myself for this accomplishment seeing that maths is my favourite subject,” the young scholar told One News SVG in an interview on Sunday night (June 23).
Sonjay attended the Spring Village Methodist School for six years, having skipped from grade 2 to grade 3 due to his academic acumen.
The mathematics lover said he prepared well throughout the process.
“I studied hard, and with the help of my family, I got the extra push I needed,” he told One News SVG.
He said several members of his family are also good at math including his mother, his aunts, and his cousin whom he describes as an “awesome teacher”.
Sonjay’s excellence in Mathematics was not just at his school. He represented the school on two occasions and did well. In 2022, he placed 2nd in the Kingstown Coorporative Credit Union KCCU Annual Quiz 2022 and placed second at the finals.
Last year (2023), he participated in the Ministry of Education and Hodder Education Math quiz where he placed 3rd.
During his interview with One News SVG, Sonjay also shared some advice to students who might be fearful of mathematics.
“Study hard and never stop believing in yourself. Push yourself to do extra work because practice does not make perfect, practice makes improvement!” the 10-year-old said.
The maths star who also loves soccer said he is excited about secondary school and in the future, he would like to be a mechanical engineer and an architect.
He also expressed gratitude to some of the people who helped him along the way.
“I’d like to thank my aunts Estina, Emily and Petula for always keeping me on track, My cousin Meliny (the awesome teacher I mentioned), my grade 6 teachers, my grandmother, and most of all my mom who is my biggest supporter. She gave up her job in another country to come back home to guide me through it all,” he said.
He also thanked God for seeing him through.
Meanwhile, his mother Emma Edwards told One News SVG she is proud of her son.
“I’m not surprised; I’m beyond proud. I knew that he could do it and he did exceptionally well. Though having the support of his family, Sonjay has always been self-motivated to achieve his goals,” she said.
The CPEA carries two components. There is a School-Based Assessment which carries 200 marks or 40% of the total score and there is an External Assessment which carries 300 marks or 60% of the total score, according to the Ministry of Education.
The criterion for determining the required standard is that students must acquire at least 50% of the possible 500 marks, the ministry said in a press release.
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