WESTERN BUREAU:Nicoya Lawrence of Irwin Primary School and Amari Knott of Somerton Primary and Infant School, both in St James East Central, emerged as the constituency’s top-performing Primary Exit Profile (PEP) students for 2026 and were recognised by Member of Parliament Edmund Bartlett last Friday.Lawrence, who scored 94.4 per cent to emerge as the constituency’s top PEP girl, and Knott, who scored 94 per cent as the top PEP boy, were among 94 students from across St James East Central recognised for their academic excellence during Friday’s 30th anniversary staging of the East Central St James Education Scholarship Fund’s scholarship awards ceremony. The event was held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St James.Reacting to her award, Lawrence – who served as Irwin Primary School’s head girl and will be moving on to Herbert Morrison Technical High School – said she intends to continue her path of excellence at the secondary level.“I feel happy and proud of myself. The PEP exam was not hard, but it was not easy, either, yet it was manageable,” Lawrence told The Gleaner in a brief comment.“I plan to keep my focus and not follow anyone in doing the wrong thing, and I am aiming to become a head girl at Herbert Morrison as well.”Her mother, Sabrina Hines, expressed excitement and pride at her daughter’s achievement, noting that academic excellence has been a consistent feature of her performance since grade one.“I am overly excited and very proud of her. When they announced the result, it was a shock and an overwhelming feeling. But I know she has the potential for it, so it was a good feeling, and I really appreciate it and am proud of her. From grade one straight up to grade six, she has a history of excellence,” said Hines.Meanwhile, Knott – Somerton Primary’s head boy, who will be matriculating to Cornwall College – was equally reserved but pleased as he reflected on his academic achievement.“I feel excited and grateful. The exam was pretty hard, but I persevered, and I plan to keep on doing well and to achieve more,” said Knott. “I am going to Cornwall College, and I plan to become head boy there. I intend to do very well in my studies, and to impact Cornwall College.”Amela Carey, Knott’s mother, said she was not surprised because her son has consistently excelled since his earliest years in school.“I was expecting those results because Amari was on the honour roll from infant level coming up. He always does well, and he is a calm soul, so I was expecting his result to be good,” said Carey.Bartlett’s education fund, which has operated in St James East Central since 1996, was originally launched in 1979 when he was member of parliament for St Andrew Eastern. Since then, it has benefited academically outstanding students from across Jamaica. The programme has continued despite the devastating impact of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa in St James East Central, which left numerous schools with severe infrastructural damage.“The basis of my public life has been human capital development, and it is essentially all about how to make a difference in people’s lives, and I think education is the most viable route for social mobility and advancement. The St James engagement has been particularly rewarding in that we have watched the development of our children from grade one all the way to university in some instances, and into public life,” Bartlett said during Friday’s function.christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com