Grade six students at Alpha Primary School pay keen attention to their teacher during classes on Monday. The students are preparing for the Grade Six Achievement Test, scheduled for next Thursday and Friday. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

While their peers have received an early Easter holiday, grade six students at the Jessie Ripoll and Alpha Primary schools on South Camp Road, Kingston were on Monday in classes, busily preparing for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), scheduled for next week.

The students say they are able to study better because the grades one to five children arenot in school, to facilitate the staging of the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) matches that are being held at Sabina Park, which is on the same stretch of road that the schools are located.

When The Gleaner caught up with the students at both institutions, they were in class trying to do as much revision as they could for the GSAT exams which will be held next Thursday and Friday.

"I feel more relaxed because we are not hearing the noise downstairs," said 12-year-old Christon Matthews, student at Jessie Ripoll Primary.

"I feel more comfortable because there is not a lot of distraction so there are various places we can go and study while we wait for our parents," Kimone Young, another student at the same school, added.

Similar sentiments were echoed by students at Alpha Primary.

"In a way, it helps, because normally they come upstairs and play while we are having classes," Danniel Brown of Alpha Primary told The Gleaner. Grade six students are currently having classes at Alpha High School.

This is because schools which use the South Camp Road entrance are closed between March 12 and 23, to facilitate the staging of CWC. However, special arrangements were made for grade six students at Alpha and Jessie Ripoll, who use the Elletson Road entrance to get to school.

Most students said they were ready for the GSAT examinations.

"I think I am ready because I am getting good grades and I have been studying hard," Juleen Graham, of Alpha Primary, said.

"I am ready for the exams because the teacher that I have and the help I have at home prepare me a lot," said 11-year-old Shaquille Brown of Alpha Primary School.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com