Joshua overcomes ‘troubling times’ to cop sixth place in CPEA (+Video)

Joshua Greaves, a student of the St Mary’s Roman Catholic School “never thought it would be possible” for him to place sixth for boys, and sixth overall in the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA).

On Friday, June 9, when the results were released, Greaves told SEARCHLIGHT in an interview that he was really happy when he heard his results as he has had to face some “troubling times”.

“I feel very happy that I placed something that I never thought would be possible for me … because there were challenges this year, and last year…”.

However, Joshua said that he navigated these challenges by trying his best, studying hard and by remembering that he has God by his side.

His mother Bernadette Greaves, said she is truly overjoyed, and that she expected great things from her son because she knows that he has the ability [to succeed].

She also said that she made sure to always be there for him.

“This is mother hen right here; she’s always here. She’s always up in his business, looking at his work, looking through his work, making up tests for her son,” Greaves told SEARCHLIGHT.

She added that even when she herself was unable to help, she found the help he needed elsewhere because she knows his ability.

“Parental involvement helps with the performance of the child in school, so if you looked over the years to see those students who have excelled, you would either see mommy or daddy at the side of the child.”

Greaves also noted that the children who are lagging behind often lack parental involvement in their lives, and are not being pushed enough.

“Boys, they need the help a lot because they are not programmed like girls. Boys need someone there to sometimes make up a schedule for them to ensure that they stick to the schedule.”

Joshua’s class teacher Juliet Culzac, said she is happy with the performance of all the students at St Mary’s Roman Catholic School especially that of Kole and Joshua who were among the top 10 performers in the CPEA.

“They … know what they are about, what they wanted to do, what they wanted to achieve, so they set their goals and they worked assiduously to achieve them so this belongs to them and all glory belongs to God. When you have students who are always ready to work, it makes life easier.”

Joshua also has a word of encouragement to those who will be sitting the exam in the future.

“Just do your best, study a lot, and put God first, and always make sure you study your work, practice because when you’re studying Math, it’s all practice, it’s not always study, you have to practice your Math and your language, so study, do your best and put God first.”

Now that the transition exam is finished Joshua said he will spend the next three months enjoying his vacation.