Rio Claro students excel at CAPE

Officials of the Rio Claro West Secondary school held an award function recently to honour two of its very own - Antonio Beckles and Mackenzie Kangoo - for earning national scholarships for the 2019 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

School principal Preston Kissoon congratulated the two saying the awards were for their hard work and dedication to their studies. “These students have shown a very high level of discipline and are shining examples for other students of the school," Kissoon said. He said he intends to monitor the progress of both Beckles and Kangoo.

Kangoo said awarded a national scholarship was just reward for her years of studies. “I'm sure my fellow scholarship winners in the country will agree with me that it's a great feeling to have your hard work recognised and to make your parents, school and community proud,” Kangoo said.

Although she placed seventh on the Regional Merit list for CAPE Unit 1 Chemistry, she will be studying Actuarial Science at UWI, St Augustine from August. “After a great deal of deliberation between being a chemist or being an actuary, I decided to pursue a career as an actuary,” she said.

Beckles was overjoyed to receive the scholarship saying had it not been for the guidance and support of his parents, he would not have been so successful. Mayaro MP Rushton Paray, who attended the function, commended the students for their achievement as well as the staff at the institution, for their dedication and commitment to educational success.

"We need you to succeed and bring success to our country. We want you to be the next generation of critical thinkers. We need you to become the next generation of problem solvers who will be tasked to fix the many ailments in society,” Paray said.

He also emphasized the importance of parental support to children in their educational pursuits and encouraged other students of the school to strive for excellence and always be brand ambassadors for their school and moreso, their community and country.