Campbell

When her teachers failed to get on top of things, 17-year-old Antoinette Campbell taught herself. She never bothered to do extra lessons like some students, instead she bought the syllabuses and followed them thoroughly.

"I had to dedicate a lot of time especially to chemistry because they had a lot of problems with the teachers, so I had to basically teach myself and the syllabuses helped a whole lot," she said.

Paid off

It paid off. Antoinette gained seven distinctions and one credit in her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams. She earned grade ones in mathematics, English language, English literature, biology, physics, chemistry and information technology. She got a grade two in Spanish and a pass in additional mathematics.

Her faith in God and support of her family and friends gave her the added confidence she needed to excel. She also did a lot of listening:

"I listened in class and did my homework and once you practise it's not as hard because it's instilled in your brain and when you listen to your teachers that helps a lot instead of reading out of a book," she said.

Antoinette, who attends Immaculate Conception High School hopes to become a medical doctor in the future.