At the age of four, she was placed into State care with her one-year-old sibling. Eight years later she is the national top performing girl of the 190 wards who sat the 2026 Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams.

The 12-year-old math whiz, who the Jamaica Observer cannot name for privacy reasons, was on Tuesday honoured alongside 189 of her peers by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) during its annual PEP Awards Ceremony at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston. The event recognises youth from State care who completed the examination and will be matriculating to high school.

Speaking with the Observer following the ceremony, the reserved youngster, who emerged with a score of 368.5 out of 400 and who will be attending St Jago High School in St Catherine, said she had more or less expected that she would emerge on top but was at a loss for words to describe the moment.