Shackeil is the talk of Dickson

Shackheil Simmons is the talk of the Dickson village. She placed fifth for girls and seventh overall in the recent Common Entrance examination.

That performance has served as a source of inspiration for the students and staff of the Dickson Government School.{{more}}

That institution, located about 24 miles away from capital city Kingstown is one of the smaller schools in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Shackheil is the first Dickson student to emerge in the top ten in any Common entrance examination. She scored 93.33 % in Maths, 88.33 General paper, and 86.67 for English.

Already students are promising to repeat her performance when they write the exam next year.

She is daughter of Elvin and Deon Simmons. Her mother works at the Ministry of Agriculture and her father on a cruise ship.

Shackheil outlined that her achievement was “just to put Dickson on the map.”

Shackheil praised her teachers of whom she said, “without them, it wouldn’t have been possible.”

However, when she contacted her father, he expressed surprise. “My father didn’t believe me. He thought I was giving him false news. He was surprised that the results came out so quickly,” Shackheil said.

She paid tribute to her parents for the discipline they instilled. “Anytime I stepped out of bounds, they made sure they put me back in,” she added.

Shackheil is optimistic about doing well at the Girls’ High School. “I am confident,” she declared. Her advice to youngsters is “keep on working.” Asked about a career, Shackheil outlined plans of being an Air Hostess.

Principal Sharon Charles relished her accomplishment. “Children in the school are in a celebratory mood,” Charles indicated.