POINT, Hanover – The hard work put in by Orange Bay Preparatory and Kindergarten head boy Raheim Jones, which sometimes meant he would miss out on playtime with friends, has paid off. He is Hanover Western’s overall top performer in this year’s Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exam. He scored 344.5 out of a possible 400. The disciplined, humble, and hard-working student has also earned a place at Manning’s School in Westmoreland, his first choice.

During the third staging of the Hanover Western top PEP achievers awards ceremony 2023 held at the Grand Palladium Hotel in the parish on July 16, Raheim was also named top male student for Hanover Western and top performer in social studies. He was awarded three trophies and a plaque. He was also one of 20 students from primary and preparatory schools in the constituency each presented with $15,000 worth of Sangster’s Book Store book vouchers, gift certificates, and backpacks.

“I had to attend school on Sundays and I had to stay up all night studying. I miss playing games with all of my friends,” said Raheim of the sacrifices he had to make.

“I feel very grateful for receiving all of these awards and my advice would be to work hard and never stop studying,” added the boy of few words.

Raheim’s mother, Collis Jones, is overjoyed about his performance.

“I’m very proud of my son. He has worked hard. He stayed up late at night. Sometimes I get really worried about him because he will be up until 2:00 am, 3:00 am,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

She knew Raheim could not have done it without support and spoke highly of his grade six teacher, Monica Luckoo, who is also the school’s vice-principal.

“She is the life of the party, but when it comes to them doing their work and getting the time in, she is not giving up. She’s not leaving. If your homework is due today, you better get your homework in. No late homework,” said Collis Jones.

A financial controller at CocoLaPalm Seaside Resort in Negril, she knows all too well the importance of education and often encouraged her son to do his very best.

“He had to be reminded that this is an important stage of your life and what you do now will dictate what happens later on because you want to get your top school of choice. If it is anything less, you might not be very happy with it. I always encourage him. I said what if your friend gets to go to Manning’s High School and you don’t pass for Manning’s. How are you going to feel? That prompted him to relax, study, and work hard to achieve what he has achieved today,” she related to the Observer.

An elated Luckoo is happy to see the success of her hard-working grade six students, including Raheim.

“We had classes from Monday to Friday. The only free time they have was on a Saturday. I’m actually a Sunday worshipper, but I made it my special effort to be there with them and ensure that they were able to capture the curriculum so that everything would be ready for them in their exams. They went in there [PEP] with [a winning] mindset, and they were able to achieve,” stated Luckoo.

“So, for Raheim, today, I’m so elated. I am feeling overjoyed to understand that Raheim has made it to the top,” she added.

The youngster, who doesn’t talk much, told the Observer that he wants to become an entrepreneur, but his teacher said he has also spoken of being a doctor.

“I encouraged him that he could do both. He could be a doctor and still do his own business. And I think he will. Because he’s very disciplined and anything he sets his mind to, he will achieve,” said Luckoo.

During the awards ceremony, Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency Tamika Davis said Raheim’s topping of all the awards came as no surprise. She noted that he had also racked up numerous prizes during his June 28 graduation at which he was the valedictorian.

“Very often we have girls being the high achievers, but this year it’s a boy. It’s a call to the girls that we should not get complacent, but we can continue to strive for excellence and a challenge to the boys to see if they can maintain it,” encouraged Davis.

The Member of Parliament, who is a lawyer from a family of educators, strongly believes in the transformational power of education.

“I know that there are challenges, and to overcome that, if I can help only one person, I believe I would have done the world of good,” she said.

The PEP award forms part of a wider $5-million education budget for the constituency; it also includes grants for the tertiary level.

Other top awards went to Kamoya Reid of Green Island Primary School who is the top girl and top performer in mathematics and science, with a score of 339.7. The top student in the area of ability went to Amoy Heath of Clifton Primary School and the top performer in the area of language arts is Levna Allen of Esher Primary School.

The other awardees are:

Kevin Brown – Kendal Primary School

Kavier Donaldson – Harding Hall Preparatory School

Sienna Swaby – Lucea Primary School

Jaheim Jerry – Pell River Primary School

Jaheim Campbell – Cove Primary School

Milton Smith – Hanover Prep and Preparatory School

Denique Morrison – Cave Valley Primary and Infant School

Jahbari Coley – Riverside Primary School

Tahlia Finn – March Town SDA Kindergarten and Preparatory School

Oneicia Stewart – Cacoon Primary and Infant School

Jordan Blake – Middlesex Corner Primary and Infant School

Nathan Noble – Upper Rock Spring Primary and Infant School

Dontae Bent – Church Hill Primary School

Akeelah Phillips – St Simon Primary School

Zanyque Lawes – Askenish Primary School

and Ceyanna Wallace – Chambers Pen Primary.