PEP top boy pleased with performance

Yohan Advani was ecstatic after finding out that he was the nation's 2022 top performing male student for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations.

"I was honestly very shocked and very, happy [especially when] it turned out that I [was accepted to] Campion College which was my first choice," he told JIS News. "I know you have to be a good scholar in order to go to that school, so I knew that I did well. But I never expected that I managed to become the top boy in the nation."

The 10-year-old, who studied at Nest Academy in St James, sat the exam when he was nine. This was because the institution allowed him to study in grades four and five together, after recognising how fast he was progressing in his academics. His overall PEP placement score was 400.

Although he was lauded as a smart child with consistently high grades, Yohan said he still found parts of the exam to be difficult.

"When I first went into grade six, I started doing mental ability [and] it was the first time I [was] introduced to that. At first, it was very hard because my teacher gave me lots of papers to do. But as time progressed, things got better and I learned about the different mental ability concepts," he said. Yohan said he ensured that he practised often, and it paid off as he scored 99 per cent on the PEP mental ability test. Meanwhile, his father Sunil Advani said he was also surprised by his son's achievement.

"I couldn't believe it ...we saw his grades, knew he was one of the good ones [and that] he's been on top," he said.

He disclosed that as a 'tight-knit' family of four, they remained supportive of each other, even during the times when Yohan was discouraged.

"Like every child ...[he] might think 'Oh this is too hard, I can't do this.' [We tell him] just try, go through it, take your time and after that comes his smile and happiness," he said.

Advani said Yohan was also inspired to work hard by his sister, Honey Advani, who is the two-time parish champion for St James in the Gleaner Children's Own Spelling Bee Competition.

"He and his sister are neck to neck. So, it is within the family," he emphasised.

Principal and teacher at Nest Academy, Weinser Wilson, said that Yohan's ability to effectively analyse equations and excel in academics is also tied to his hobby of coding.

"Coding is a hobby for me too so [when] I saw Yohan using a particular programme that you use while you are learning to code, [I was quite surprised]," Wilson said.

"I asked him how well he can use the programme and to my surprise, he had probably about 15 video games already made, so I was like ...this kid is not normal," he added.