Morgan’s Learning Centre students aged 14, 15 earn qualifications for early acceptance into UG

Aug 29, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News – While some of their peers are yet to figure out how many subjects, they will write at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, several students, ages 14 and 15 of the Morgan’s Learning Centre (MLC) have not only aced those exams, but are preparing to make their mark at the nation’s highest institution of learning—the University of Guyana (UG).

Kaieteur News recently caught up with the young academic achievers who expressed their gratitude for the tutelage they received from teachers at MLC. They also relayed their excitement at the prospect of acquiring an early tertiary education.

They said they are grateful to have crossed the hurdle of CXC, younger than the standard age.

Rihanna James, 16, wrote CSEC via MLC. She was 15, when she first wrote and acquired three subjects; all Grade Ones.

This year, she returned and acquired four more subjects—all Grades Ones. “I got Maths, English, Principles of Accounts (POA), Office Administration (OA), Principles of Business (POB), Economics, and Human/Social Biology.”

The student expressed her love for science. She said she plans on entering the medical field.  “I want to become a doctor, so my focus now is on the science subjects, then I will be going off to UG,” she said.

James said that although her grades were good at public school, the teachers at MLC challenged her to do better.

“I started attending lessons here because it’s a generational thing. My sisters and all my cousins attended and did well, so it was natural for me to attend as well.”

Akeem François, 15 is among those who are headed straight to the UG, having secured the minimum requirement for entry into the tertiary institution.  The teen secured five subjects at CSEC while juggling his year level school.

“Well, while I was preparing for the exam, I just didn’t do much of school to be honest, was completing the assignments, the quizzes, but it wasn’t my main focus.”

“My main focus was on the exam and the preparation for the exam. I was revising and studying very frequently.” He said support played a great role in his success.

“My mom first asked me, ‘Do you want to do this?’ I responded ‘yes, I want to do it.’ And my brother was also supportive. He helped me very greatly and Sir Savory also helped me a lot with Math and Sir Simon and Sir Morgan. Sir Morgan is the reason for my Grade One.”

Asked whether he felt he would be missing out on school by going to UG earlier than usual, the teen said: “No, I view this as a head start, actually, I want to pursue a Degree in Public Management” The teen’s mother, Nicola Griffith beamed with pride as she spoke about his academic feat.

“I am very proud of his accomplishment and I knew he would be able do well because his cousins and his brother attended Morgan’s and they all did very well,” she said.

Much like Akeem François, Makayla Morgan wrote CSEC at age 14. She acquired three subjects in grade 9 [Form Three] and five subjects –a total of 8 by grade 10 [Form Four]. She is headed to the university as well.

Emary St Hill, 15, a grade 9 student has a total of 6 subjects. He is also headed to the University of Guyana along with Leron Currica, a grade 10 student who wrote five subjects.

Crystal Haywood, 14, a student of MLC told this newspaper that she transferred to the private school from Brickdam Secondary School. She acquired five subjects at CSEC.

“I was picked to write the subjects. I chose to write Math, English, POB, POA and Office Administration. I got a Grade One in English, a Grade Two in POB, a Grade Two in OA, a Grade Three in POA, and a Grade Three in Math,” she said.

The young achiever credited the school for her academic performance and personal growth.

Haywood said: “The environment here it’s nice. The teachers here, they challenge you, and they work with you, you just need to seek their help. Overall, I would recommend coming here, because I transferred from another school, and it was an upgrade for me, because it helped me to open up a little bit more and also helped me with my studies.

“Also, they offer at least more subjects here than they did at my old school. So overall, I’m glad I got the opportunity to write CSEC now,” the teen who wants a career in teaching and interior design added.

Divine Roberts, 14, wrote five subjects. She got Grade twos in OA and POB and Grade threes in Math, English and POA. However, she will not be leaving school quite yet.

“I would like to write back English, because I know I could do better in that. Afterwards, I would like to go to sixth form. Career wise, I would like to be a lawyer,” she explained.  She loves that MLC offers her a place to balance academia as well as her social well-being.

Fifteen-year-old, Yuvraj Lall is grateful to his parents and teachers for the early start.

Lall said, “It was a little complex, because I was new to everything and I didn’t really understand it. But thanks to Sir Morgan, Sir Simon and Miss Pereira, I eventually grasped the concept of everything.”

He continued, “Sir Morgan takes his work seriously, and that made me study hard. His orals made me remember everything for the exam. It made me do well in terms of his subject.”

The teen gained CSEC five subjects. He plans to complete Grade 11 and attain his high school certificate. “But if I do get into UG; l’ll do UG while completing 5^th form, “the ambitious teen stated.

Antoine Yhap, 15, acquired three Grade Ones in POA, POB and OA. I got Grade two in English and I got a Grade three for Mathematics.  He plans to write six more subjects at CSEC next year.  He travels from Buxton on the East Coast of Demerara daily for classes at MLC.

Yhap said that his mother and teachers were motivating factors for him. “I’m completely honest. I used to reach late for almost all my classes, but after a while, I got into it. I mean, what used to push me for, you know, my mother said she spends her money, so I got to do well,” he said.

MLC’s success is attributed to its focused academic programmes, experienced teaching staff, and the ability to motivate students to excel in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, continuing a tradition of young academic excellence.

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• Akeem Francois, Crystal Haywood, CSEC, Divine Roberts, Morgan’s Learning Centre, Rihanna James, University of Guyana

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