SEVEN Tobago students have placed in the top ten merit list in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) 2021.

Three of the students – Amaiya Yeates, Chelsea Price and Amber Mayhew – came from Signal Hill Secondary's performing arts class under the tutelage of Antineil Tristan Blackman.

Blackman said on Wednesday, “I am very happy for my students that they were able to reap such rewards with the work that they would have put out, given that they faced so many restrictions to complete their practical during a pandemic. So, I was just very happy for them to see that all their hard work paid off.”

Blackman credited the passion of the students for their achievements.

She recalled their first day in the classroom.

[caption id="attachment_938859" align="alignnone" width="576"] Chelsea Price -[/caption]

“They were like, 'All of this I have to do?' Then afterwards their mindset (changed) – the way that they looked at society; social issues; how they see the creative economy – they see it from a very analytical perspective than before.

"So, when they entered, it was like, 'Oh, I want to do this thing,' and then when they started doing all the readings and working alongside practitioners and knowledge bearers, then they were able to absorb and understand the context of what this thing means to us in Trinidad and Tobago.”

Blackman said her students placing on the merit list came as no surprise.

“This is not the first time that Signal Hill was placed on the merit list for performing arts. We would have had in 2018 two students placed ninth, in 2019 four students were on the merit list – first, second, fourth and seventh.”

She currently has eight students preparing for 2022 exams who want to place on the merit list too.

She advised them to "focus on the work, everything else would come afterwards.”

She said she remains passionate towards youths and the arts.

“...I understand what it means for young people to have a sense of identity in terms of who they are as a Trinbagonian, because they have social media now. I understand my purpose among young people.”

Yeates and Price tied for third in the Caribbean in the subject.

[caption id="attachment_938860" align="alignnone" width="625"] Signal Hill Secondary teacher Antineil Tristan Blackman -[/caption]

Yeates hailed the input of their teacher: "She made us feel comfortable and she made the journey smoother than it would have been if we didn’t have the support that she was giving us.”

Price was also elated about her achievement. “It was overwhelming, however I always had a love for performing arts and the culture, and knowing the persons who I had in my corner – like my extremely supportive teachers, my colleagues. We always worked hand in hand with one another so for that reason, it didn’t really feel like work majority of the time, it was more of an experience, and it was nostalgic.”

[caption id="attachment_938857" align="alignnone" width="768"] Amaiya Yeates -[/caption]

Seventh-placed Mayhew said: “I had an added bonus because I