St. Ignatius top student excels at CSEC exams

After transferring from the St. Joseph High School in Georgetown to the St. Ignatius Secondary School in Region Nine a year ago, 16-year-old Arvin Lawrie emerged as the top performing Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations student there.

Lawrie, the youngest of four children, wrote 18 subjects and secured 10 Grade Ones, 7 Grade Twos, and 1 Grade Three.

“I am very much satisfied,” Lawrie said during an interview with the News Room on Wednesday.

He added that the results were unexpected.

“I stayed up about 4 in the mornings sometimes but not every time because I needed my rest as well.

“I didn’t overwork myself too much because I still needed energy to do my exams, sometimes I didn’t really eat and I had extra help from my teachers, extra classes and extra lessons,” a humbled Lawrie recounted in his preparations for the exams.

Lawrie was born and raised on the Essequibo Coast where he attended primary school and later moved to Georgetown for secondary school.

However, a year ago, he decided to move with his mother to Region Nine after she was offered a promotion of Deputy Head Mistress at the St. Ignatius Secondary School.

“My mother got a promotion as DHM and I saw it as an opportunity to go and explore a new environment so I took the opportunity and went with her,” Lawrie explained.

This decision also encouraged him to pursue more than the 12 subjects for CSEC that was allowed at St. Joseph High.

“I always wanted to do a lot of subject but they weren’t really offered at St Joseph’s until recently more than 12 subjects. So I got that opportunity at St. Ignatius and teachers also pulled me in and say you can do this subject and I did it,” Lawrie said.

Currently, students at St. Ignatius can write up to 25 subjects at CSEC.

“St. Ignatius doesn’t limit the students to 10 or 12 subjects, once we see the potential in the students and they are willing to the subject, we give them the go ahead,” Lawrie’s mother, Camille Lawrie told the News Room.

Mrs. Lawrie who is also an English teacher at the school, played a significant role in his preparation for the exams.

“He is a very disciplined and dedicated worker. Most of his work was done through self-study with the materials he had access to on the internet,” Mrs. Lawrie said.

She also believes that the quiet and comfortable environment in the Rupununi was also a contributing factor to her son’s success.

Looking ahead, Lawrie said he plans to pursue studies in medicine at either the Carribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) or university level.

“I always had a passion for science, and I really love helping people. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was small,” the aspiring neurosurgeon said.