Math whiz, aspiring Chemist claims joint CPEA second position

It was a close finish for the top three spots in the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) and when the dust settled, Windsor Primary School student and 2022 Primary Schools Math Quiz winner, Kajj Murray, beat out 1,441 students to claim second place.

The top performer for Social Studies overall with 97.3 per cent, tied for second place overall with St Mary’s Roman Catholic student Kenneth Inniss.

Kajj spoke to SEARCHLIGHT about his love for Science and his aspirations to be a Chemist when he gets older.

“When I was younger I used to have this dream of me making insecticide spray to kill insects.”

He admitted to feeling “relieved” that the CPEA examinations were over after months of preparation led by his father who is a secondary school teacher.

“I felt a little scared but relaxed because I just decided that I would do my best. So I didn’t put any extra pressure on myself. I just made sure I did what I had to do,” Kajj said, recounting his feelings on the first day of the exams.

Classmate of the CPEA top performer Jadon Hamilton, Kajj said he and Jadon are good buddies and enjoy spending time together on the school’s playground or playing pranks on their schoolmates.

But when it comes to buckling down and doing the schoolwork, his mother, Anika Dyer said Kajj takes his work seriously. She said from his earliest years, the parents recognized that Kajj was academically gifted and he consistently maintained an A-rank as the school does not award students’ positions for end-of-term assessments.

While Kajj admitted he was not confident about making the nation’s list of top performers, his mother said she believed he would do well and has surpassed her expectations.

“I was thinking top twenty, of course you would feel good if he was in the top ten so to see him actually placing second, it was remarkable.”