Immaculate Conception High Student Earns CSEC Mathematics Distinction in Grade Eight

When 14-year-old Immaculate Conception High School student, Maliah Bent, sat the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Mathematics examination earlier this year, a Grade One was not the anticipated outcome.

However, when the results of the exam were released, the top grade was a welcome surprise to Maliah and her parents.

This journey began when she observed another student from her school sitting the CSEC Mathematics examination before reaching the recommended fifth-form stage.

Inspired by that example – and given her deep love for Mathematics – Maliah, then a second-form student, decided to take the exam as a trial run to better understand the conditions surrounding this critical assessment.

Preparation for the examination included weekend online classes, as Maliah also had to balance her regular academic responsibilities with daily after-school track-and-field training.

“I actually didn’t start CSEC classes until November. And I wasn’t feeling that bad around that time; I thought everything was fine. I just watched some YouTube videos and all that stuff,” she says, describing her mental state during the early stages of preparation.

Maliah adds that as time progressed, she began to feel nervous and even a little apprehensive about the task ahead.

She recounts moments when she approached her mother, Marsha Smith-Bent, asking if she could reconsider sitting the exam. These episodes became more frequent as the exam date approached, particularly when the youngster encountered topics she had not yet studied.

But with her parents’ gentle encouragement and their reminder that the exam had already been paid for, Maliah was reassured that she could overcome.

“Everything was so overwhelming. But Mommy and Daddy were saying, ‘it’s okay, it’s okay, you just need to breathe, you just need to calm down’… and [that] calmed me a little bit. But honestly… it was all so much for me. But, in the end, it worked,” she tells JIS News.

Maliah shares that on the day the results were released, it was her mother who called and asked if she was curious to know her grade.

Trying not to get her hopes up, she told her mother that if the result was lower than a Grade Three, she preferred not to hear it.

“During the exam, I came across so many questions – ones I wasn’t sure about,” the 14-year-old recalls. “[But my mom] was like, ‘Maliah, you got a One’.”

“I was so surprised. I was in shock, because it started to click to me that I [was] in grade eight and I got a grade one in Mathematics, and not everybody can do that. So, I’m really proud of myself. This is a very big achievement,” she says.

Mrs. Smith-Bent tells JIS News that when her daughter first approached her with the idea of sitting the CSEC Mathematics examination in grade eight, she began by confirming that Maliah was truly certain about the decision.

Then, as a supportive mother, she started searching for weekend classes that could fit into her daughter’s already packed schedule. She also sourced past papers and developed a structured plan to give Maliah the best possible chance of success.

She adds that Maliah’s father, Maurice Bent, also played a supportive role by sitting with her during some of her CSEC preparation classes.

Recalling results day, Mrs. Smith-Bent shares, “I was home, patiently waiting for the time to log on [to the official CXC online student portal]. I remember watching the screen load and saying to myself, ‘Lord, if she gets even a Three, just let her pass, just let her pass.’ I didn’t want her to be disappointed.”

Then she saw the Grade One and was stunned for a moment before realising that her daughter had accomplished something truly remarkable.

“I saw the One and… I said, ‘did I actually refresh the page?’ because I said maybe it [was] an error. Then, I just started screaming…. . I started to send it to everybody… . I was so excited,” the proud mother tells JIS News.

Mrs. Smith-Bent shares that Maliah never displayed advanced proficiency in Mathematics, noting that she actually disliked the subject during her primary school years.

However, something shifted when she entered high school – the youngster began to take an interest in the subject.

Still, it was never expected that she would earn a Grade One in just her second year of secondary education.

Maliah’s achievement also came as a surprise to her form teacher, Janel Polson – who also teaches her French – but only because the student had to prepare for and sit the examination outside of Immaculate Conception High.

The teacher states that while she is a little surprised that Maliah attempted the exam so early, she is not too surprised at the grade, noting that she is “a very bright girl, who cares a lot about her work.”

“She takes pride in her work, and she always wants to do well. So, [while] I would be a little bit surprised that she took it on at this stage, I’m sure that she put in the work, and it definitely came through in the result because I [saw] it in the work that she [did] in my class [and] as her French teacher,” Ms. Polson proudly states.

As Maliah enters third form in the 2025/26 academic year, she is considering sitting English Language and possibly several science subjects in the CSEC examinations ahead of fifth form.

While she remains uncertain about her future career path, she is fully embracing the journey of self-discovery.

Mrs. Smith-Bent adds that she and Maliah’s father will continue to support her every step of the way, encouraging her to embrace new challenges while allowing her to chart her own course.