The Jones family has had a challenging but rewarding year thus far, as their youngest member earned top marks in the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam at his primary school, Nelson Street Boys' RC.
Trey Jones, 12, passed for his first choice of St Mary's College, and earned two trophies for getting top marks in mathematics and language arts.
Speaking with Newsday after receiving the awards and his results on Thursday, Jones, said despite some uncertainty and nervousness leading up to the exam, he was encouraged by his family to work hard.
Jones scored 97 out of 100 in maths and 85 out of 100 in language arts.
"I didn't think I would have gotten higher than 70 at all, I thought I was going to fail and that I would have to repeat but I built up my courage and started working hard. I never stopped working. Every day I revised, prayed and did my work.
"I felt really happy, overjoyed and excited when I saw the results and I thank the Lord for that."
Jones said he was especially grateful for the support from his mother, Cleopatra Jones.
[caption id="attachment_912163" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Top SEA studentof Nelson Street Boys, RC School in Port of Spain Trey Jone gets a kiss from his mother Cleopatra Jones after receiving his results. Jones passed for St. Mary's College which was his first choice. Photo by Ayanna Kinsale[/caption]
Speaking with reporters, the elder Jones emotionally recalled the challenges faced over the past year and said that she was very proud of her son's achievements. She said she and her family would continue to support her son and she was confident he would accomplish more with the proper guidance.
"He proved he could do it himself. I know the journey now start, and I am right there supporting him fully, his father and I, because he is the baby. I have three other older ones; he is the last.
"St Mary's College, you're getting Trey Jones in your school, and he is going to get an open scholarship. He will go abroad to study because he wants to be a brain surgeon or an open heart surgeon, so the money is saving hard to go towards that. I'm not playing with that."
[caption id="attachment_912161" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Top SEA studentof Nelson Street Boys, RC School in Port of Spain Trey Jones leaps with joy as he holds his trophies after receiving his results. Jones passed for St. Mary's College which was his first choice. Photo by Ayanna Kinsale[/caption]
Asked her recipe for success in getting her son to achieve such high marks, Jones said from a young age she taught her children the importance of hard work and sacrifice in achieving their goals.
"I'm a cleaner. He used to come to the station where I worked when he was small and he would pick up a broom and help me. I used to show them the payslip I used to earn, so they know how small the money was and how hard I was working, and everything is lessons and this and that.
"The support is with the teacher and I'm always involved with everything in the school. I have to exhaust all of my energy on
