Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

Collette Ridley, acting principal at St George's Girls Primary and Infant at Duke Street, downtown Kingston, hugs Jodiann Lobban shortly after she completed the Grade Six Achievement Test yesterday. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

The two-day Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) ended yesterday, allowing thousands of students across the island to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

When The Gleaner visited St George's Girls Primary and Infant School on Duke Street, downtown Kingston, yesterday, cheers and screams erupted as some 115 students left the examination room.

"I feel relieved, all the stress gone and I can now go and play," said Janeal Anderson, headgirl at St George's.

She said she planned to go home yesterday "sleep, wake up and then play some games on the computer".

Campion aspirant

A lawyer in the making, Janeal said although the social studies examination was challenging, she thought she did well enough to secure a space at Campion College, the school of her first choice.

"Oh God! I hope I pass for Wolmer's (High School for Girls) and make my mommy proud," was the reaction of 12-year-old Taneisha Davidson, when she exited the examination room at St George's. Taneisha said she was glad the examinations were over but still intends to study and also play with her friends.

Shante Trelleven of Denham Town Primary, said the GSAT was not as difficult as she had anticipated.

Like her peers, she said she was happy that she would not have to stay up late at nights to study.

"The exam was manageable," Shakeem Hird of St. Anne's Primary, Kingston, told The Gleaner yesterday.

He related that the past few months had been difficult for him as he prepared for the GSAT.

"I feel very relaxed because I don't have to study as much," said Shakeem.

The GSAT replaced the Common Entrance Examination in 1999. Performance in the test determines the placement of students into secondary schools.

Students were assessed on a range of subjects, namely mathematics, language arts, social studies, science and communication tasks.

Most students with whom The Gleaner spoke, agreed that the social studies examination was more difficult than they expected.

Some 25,345 boys registered for the examination, compared to 25,117 girls, bringing the total to 50,462 students.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com