Rachel Chin, top-performing girl in the island with her teacher Marcia

Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

Rachel Chin of Queen's Preparatory School, St. Andrew, outperformed her peers in the 2007 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), and earned the Scotiabank awardfor the highest-erforming girl in the island.

"I was so excited, I ran around the school yard," Rachel said of her reaction when she got the news of her performance.

The 11-year-old said she was, however, surprised that she copped the top award as she was just aiming for a regular scholarship.

Rachel says without her teacher, Marcia Jamieson and her parents Stacey and Peter Chin, she would not have performed so well in the examination.

"I also studied hard and did past papers at school and home," she told The Gleaner yesterday.

Rachel, who will be attending Campion College in September, enjoys travelling. As such, she is eyeing a career in international law.

When not studying, she enjoys writing, reading and drawing.

"I was expecting her to get a government scholarship, because she was working well," said Ms. Jamieson. "So top girl is just the icing on the cake."

"This is a young lady who knows exactly what she wants and goes for it diligently," she added.

Mrs. Chin told The Gleaner that she was overwhelmed when she found out that her daughter was the island's top girl.

"I knew that she would do well, but it was still a bit of a shock," she said. Mrs. Chin describes her daughter as a regular child who likes to have fun, but ensures that her work is done first.

Rachel scored 96 for mathematics, science 100, social studies 99, language arts 98 and full marks for communication task.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com