ORACABESSA, St Mary — Separated by only three points in this year’s Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams, Andrae Thompson and Sahai Jumpp are the best-performing students out of 150 from Oracabessa Primary School. Now they’re looking forward to blazing a trail for themselves at their new schools come September. They will attend St Mary High School and Westwood High School, respectively, both getting into their first choice.

The top-performing boy and girl are proud of their accomplishments. From a maximum possible placement score of 400, Andrea racked up 339.7 and his score for ability was 97 per cent. Sahai got a placement score of 336.7 and her ability was assessed at 96 per cent.

Excelling at PEP is just the latest of Andrae’s accomplishments. He is the school’s head boy and plays an active role in the 4-H and mathematics clubs. Asked how he maintains good grades while finding time to have fun, he explained that it all comes down to discipline, time management, and having a strong network.

“I do all the necessary things at home and at school first. I study with my friends so we can learn from each other and I retain things better,” Andrae told the Jamaica Observer.

He believes his participation in clubs complements his academic side. Curiosity about how plants grow and a love for mathematics has kept him on his toes and he sees himself making an invaluable contribution at St Mary High through the sciences and mathematics. His goal is a career in medicine.

Sahai is also eager to make an impact at her new place of study.

“Most of the females in my family attended the school,” she said.

She is particularly impressed by Westwood’s focus on etiquette, a trait she is hoping she can play a role in normalising within the wider society.

A confident teenager, Sahai is also quite competitive. She knew exactly what she wanted to achieve in the PEP exams.

“I knew I had to step up my grades. I knew I had to be the person on top, not second place,” she said.

She refused to be deterred by the challenges that came with the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, she had no problem with not being able to attend face-to-face classes.

“It seemed like nothing to me as I am always on the phone, so online classes was basically nothing alarming,” said Sahai.

No stranger to hard work, the young girl, who hopes to one day become an entrepreneur, is ready to take on the world, just like Andrae.