Bhopaul is CAPE top student; Guyanese students bag several regional awards

Queen’s College student Michael Bhopaul has been recognised as the Caribbean’s top performer at this year’s May/June sitting of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

Bhopaul who previously topped Guyana for both the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) in 2012, and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examinations in 2017, once again emerged as the country’s and the region’s top academic performer after garnering an impressive 16 Grade 1 passes during the two years of CAPE.

This announcement was made at the meeting of the Sub-Committee of the School Examinations Committee (SUBSEC) held on October 16, 2019, at Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC)’s Headquarters in Barbados.

Earlier this year, in August, it was announced by Guyana’s Ministry of Education that Leonardo Gobin and Michael were the country’s top CAPE performers, securing eight Grade Ones each during their second and final year of CAPE.

Subsequent to the official release of the results, however, the Ministry of Education highlighted that Guyana’s top CAPE student is Shanomae Milling of St. Rose’s High School.

The young woman wrote 11 units and secured nine grade ones and two grade twos, during her second year of CAPE.

CXC’s regional award for CAPE top performer is based on students’ performance in both years of the Sixth Form examination and with Bhopaul securing eight Grade One passes in his first year of CAPE and another eight Grade Ones during his second year, he was adjudged as the Regional Top performer even though Milling secured more passes than him in 2019.

In addition to receiving the Dennis Irvine Award as the Regional Top Performer, Bhopaul will also receive the RM Results-sponsored award for Most Outstanding Candidate in Mathematics and the top award for Natural Sciences at the regional award ceremony in Grenada later this year.

Also securing regional awards for Guyana, at the CSEC level, was Riana Toney of the Anna Regina Multilateral School; Samuel Haynes from Queen’s College; and Brianna Gopie, also from Queen’s College.

The Loop Barbados reported that Toney is the top regional CSEC candidate, after securing 19 Grade One passes. She is also the region’s top Humanities student.

Haynes is the Most Outstanding Candidate in Sciences, while Gopie is the Most Outstanding Candidate for Business Education. The other regional awards at the CSEC level were split among students from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.