A very shy Hannah Gill of St Winifred’s School will be having an extra special 11th birthday on June 29 after she placed eighth in the Barbados Secondary Schools Entrance Examination with 96 in English and 97 in maths. Hannah was very calm on receiving the news yesterday, although she was surprised she got a C in Composition as she had never had less than a B in her practice assignments.Hannah, who is a member of the Pirates Swim Club, said she trained every day except Sundays at the Aquatic Centre, as swimming was her passion, which she interrupted once a week to attend tennis. She recently competed in St Lucia where she smashed six records.Described as an independent learner, Hannah said she did not take extra lessons as she focused on her homework after swimming on evenings, hoping to get the exams out of the way since she could not understand all of the fuss.She disclosed that teacher Wendy Shepherd as well as mum and dad Wendy and Stewart were the motivating factors in helping her to perform.St Winifred’s was also abuzz with the news that the petite Paige Gibbs had scored a perfect 100 in maths. The jazz lover and dancer received 91 in English and a B in Composition.Paige, who is related to the famous Gibbs swimmers of Barbados, said her strategy was to turn off all the eletronic devices around her and concentrate on her work at home.Paige, who turned 11 on May 8, will be heading to Canada during the summer before returning to enter the school of her choice, Queen’s College, along with Hannah in September. (KB)
