Diligent preparation, strong family support and knowing when to rest rather than cram helped Michel Somwar of Tagore Memorial Secondary School secure 18 Grade Ones and three Grade Twos from 21 subjects at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.
Somwar, 17, of Region Six, said her preparation centred largely on working through past examination papers and attending lessons.
“I mostly worked past papers and went to lessons, and when I didn’t know a certain topic or questions, I would reach out to the teacher or they would tell me to just review it back in the textbooks,” she said.
Somwar’s main strategy was to work through as many past papers as possible and rely on her preparation. When she felt she had not studied enough, the teen said she sometimes chose sleep over cramming.
Her preparation was also supported by family members who are educators. Somwar lives with her aunt and uncle and has grown up alongside her younger cousin, Nitya Narine, 15, who wrote 27 subjects this year and secured 26 Grade Ones and one Grade Two.
“It was less scary because I know they could help me, and I could ask them for help. If I’m too scared to go to a teacher, I just ask them,” Somwar said.
Nitya’s example was a source of motivation and influenced the young scholar’s decision to take on 21 subjects.
“I had to look at Nitu and I was like, she’s doing so much, so like, I can do this,” Somwar told Ignite News.
The teen said she never seriously considered giving up because of her cousin’s example. Somwar explained that after learning the school’s 2025 top student had written 20 subjects, she initially thought she could manage the same number.
“So I was like, I can do 20 too, but then they had an extra one which was Economics, so I picked that up too,” she said.
One of the more demanding aspects of the examination process was completing the School-Based Assessments (SBAs).
The 17-year-old recalled anxiety among students after CSEC issued guidance concerning the use of artificial intelligence in SBA work.
“The SBAs were tiring because when we did it, there was like lots of corrections, and then CSEC put out no AI, and then they had the whole form, so the entire SBA had to do back,” she said.
With her secondary school examinations behind her, Somwar is preparing to pursue Chemistry at the University of Guyana, with ambitions to enter the pharmaceutical field and work in the development of medicines.
Asked why pharmaceuticals appealed to her, she said simply: “Because it’s Chemistry. I like Chemistry.”
Somwar is encouraging other students to know their own limits and focus on performing well in the subjects they choose.
“Do as much as you want, as much as you can,” she advised, cautioning students against allowing parents or guardians to pressure them into taking more subjects than they can realistically manage.
