More than 2,800 Perak pupils score straight As in UPSR

Karmilawati with her parents who were overjoyed with her UPSR results.

IT was a day of joy and tears as Year Six pupils received the results for the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination that they sat for earlier this year.

Despite finding the resit paper for Science to be more difficult, Cheah Zhu Anne, 12, was over the moon as she was one of the 78 out of 321 candidates in her school who obtained 7As.

“Initially, I was disappointed because the resit was right after my school graduation trip, which meant that I could not fully enjoy my holiday in Sarawak without worrying about UPSR exams again.

“But I am glad that my hard work has paid off in the end,” she said after receiving her results slip at SJK (C) Ave Maria Convent in Ipoh on Wednesday.

It was also double happiness for Zhu Anne as she was named the school’s Tokoh Nilam award winner for reading 200 books this year.

Zhu Anne scored 7As in the UPSR exam.

“I love reading many materials like novels, newspapers and magazines because I believe it helps me improve my language and writing skills.

“I feel extremely happy about my achievements, and I hope my parents will be proud of me too,” she said, adding that her parents had never given her pressure over exams; only encouragement.

Zhu Anne’s classmate, Wong Jing, 12, who was named the school’s most excellent student, was grinning shyly next to her.

She had also scored 7As for UPSR.

“I was very worried about my Chinese essay paper because the questions were very different from the usual ones I encountered during my revision.

“I have been doing consistently well in the subject, and I prayed hard that my results would not turn out to be too disappointing,” she said.

English teacher Wong Kooi Peng (right) smiling after seeing the excellent results of her twin girls Jeslyn (left) and Janice Ng. - Photos by RONNIE CHIN

On her studying habits, Jing said she would make time to study and revise different subjects for at least two hours a day.

“I also love playing badminton to relive stress, and I find that I am more energised and can study better after playing a few games,” she said.

Meanwhile, SK Convent pupil Chen Wen Hui was among the 16 out of 57 candidates in the school who scored straight As in the examination.

“I did not expect to score straight As because I was told that the marking system for the Mathematics paper is quite stringent.

“I was nervous and the last thing I wanted was to make silly mistakes,” she said after receiving her award for her achievement at her school in Ipoh.

Wen Hui said that she could not wait to return to her hometown in Kampar and share the joy with her family and relatives.

Ng Qiao Ying, who also received the same award for achieving straight As, said she was excited because her mother had said that she would take her to Singapore during the year-end holidays.

“My parents have been very supportive,” said the 12-year-old.

Perak Education Department director Mohd Idris Ramli said a total of 2,847 pupils had scored straight As this year, compared to last year’s 3,249.

“There has been a 0.89% drop in pupils scoring straight As and I believe it is due to the issue of leaked papers.

“I believe all the pupils did their best despite the setbacks that caused some to lose focus and become disinterested,” he said during the UPSR results announcement ceremony at SK Marian Convent in Ipoh.

About 37,749 candidates in the state sat for the UPSR examination this year compared to 38,248 last year.

A total of 24,434 pupils have passed the examinations this year compared to last year’s 24,392.

At SK Marian Convent, Loh Pui Hua was among 37 pupils who scored straight As.

The aspiring chef said the leak in exam papers did not make her lose focus and that she was happy with her results.

“I was quite confident in myself as I was well prepared.

“I have always studied consistently and am also active in extra-curricular activities,” said Pui Hua, who also represents her school and Kinta district in bowling.

“I also ensure I try to finish my homework,” she said.

Also making the state proud was orang asli pupil Karmilawati Karim, who scored straight As in the examination.

The pupil from SK Pasukan Polis Hutan, Ulu Kinta, said she had been worried about her results because of the leaked papers issue.

“I was quite stressed but I told myself to keep on revising and just do my best.

“My father and my elder siblings all helped me out, and I also did a lot of past year questions,” she said, adding that her ambition was to become a veterinarian.