Askenish Primary students excel in PEP despite teacher’s death
Published:Friday | July 4, 2025 | 12:11 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Despite the heartbreaking loss of their teacher Claudette Forbes just before sitting their Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams, Denyque Haughton and Curtanae Patterson of Askenish Primary and Infant School in Hanover have achieved exceptional results in the 2025 assessments.
The two girls, both 11 years old, and both of whom were on the principal’s honour roll, attained two of the top PEP scores among their grade six cohort. Haughton had the highest placement score of 342.6 points while Patterson followed closely with 336.3 points. The two will be attending The Manning’s School in Westmoreland come September.
Haughton, a soft-spoken member of Askenish Primary’s 4-H Club, admitted to feeling nervous going into the exam but also stated that she was confident.
“I knew once I put in the work, I would come out doing my best,” said Haughton, who is also a school monitor. “Then, when I got the results, I felt happy and proud of myself, and I felt overwhelmed with joy.”
“My teachers helped me to prepare and study, plus my parents were also involved, and I studied almost every day. You only fail once you stop trying, so I say to other students, you should do your best,” said Haughton, who wants to run a technology company.
MANY ROLES
Patterson, who has served as a prefect, a national peer counsellor under the Jamaica Association of Guidance Counsellors in Education, and president of the school’s Culture Club, said that she felt certain she would have done well.
“The teachers helped us to prepare for the exam, and I really studied hard, and I also used my textbooks, and my parents also helped me to study. I did not study every day, but I studied sometimes, even just before the exam,” said Patterson, who enjoys dancing and wants to become a firefighter. “I was really happy and proud of myself when I got my results, and I was really confident I would have done well. To other students, I want to say, always be confident and never give up.”
Both girls were placed on the first of three pathways utilised in the PEP exam to determine students’ competency in the exam’s subject areas. Under the PEP exam guidelines, the first pathway is for students who perform satisfactorily, the second pathway is for students with some form of delayed learning, and the third pathway is for students with special needs.
Perronet Hall-Riley, the school’s principal, told The Gleaner that her students delivered impressively, especially because they were impacted in February by the death of Forbes, their longtime mentor.
“The teacher that we lost (Forbes) had taught them in the infant class, and she had a granddaughter who is in grade six. Her passing shook up everyone, and because they were very close to the teacher and the granddaughter, they were shaken up and we were worrying if they could manage,” said Hall-Riley. “We had to say to them, ‘Life goes on. Let us see what we can try to make of this exam, and whatever the results are, we will be satisfied.’”