Yohan Advani, who is seen as a gifted child by his parents and teachers was ecstatic after finding out that he was the nation’s top performing male student for the 2022 Primary Exit Profile (PEP).

“I was honestly very shocked and very happy [especially when] it turned out that I [was accepted to] Campion College which was my first choice,” Yohan said.

“I know you have to be a good scholar in order to go to that school, so I knew that I did well, but I never expected that I managed to become the top boy in the nation,” he added.

The 10-year-old who studied at Nest Academy in St James sat the exam when he was nine-years-old. This was because the institution allowed him to study grades four and five together, after recognising how fast he was progressing in his academics.

His overall PEP placement score was 400.

Although he was lauded as a smart child with consistently high grades, Yohan said he still found parts of the exam to be difficult.

“When I first went into grade six, I started doing mental ability [and] it was the first time I [was] introduced to that. At first, it was very hard because my teacher gave me lots of papers to do but as time progressed, things got better and I learned about the different mental ability concepts,” he explained.

Yohan disclosed that though he did not have any study routine, “I always made sure I practiced ever so often, to make sure that I didn’t lag behind anywhere.”

This resulted in him scoring 99 per cent on the PEP Mental Ability Test.

Meanwhile, Sunil Advani said he was also surprised about his son’s achievement.

“I couldn’t believe it …we saw his grades, knew he was one of the good ones [and that] he’s been on top,” he said.

Sunil shared that as a ‘tight-knit’ family of four, they remained supportive of each other, even during the times when Yohan was discouraged.

“Like every child…[he] might think ‘oh this is too hard, I can’t do this.’ [We tell him] just try, go through it, take your time…and after that comes his smile and happiness,” he noted.

Sunil said Yohan was also inspired to work hard by his sister, Honey Advani, who is the two-time winner of the Spelling Bee Competition for St James.

“He and his sister are neck to neck. So, it is within the family,” he emphasised.

Yohan’s ability to effectively analyse equations and excel in academics, according to principal and teacher at Nest Academy, Weinser Wilson, is also tied to his hobby of coding.

“Coding is a hobby for me too so [when] I saw Yohan using a particular programme that you use while you are learning to code, [I was quite surprised],” Wilson told JIS News.

“I asked him how well he can use the programme and to my surprise, he had probably about 15 video games already made, so I was like…this kid is not normal”.

Wilson continued to encourage Yohan to practice coding and encouraged him to join the Oxford University Coding Challenge, where he championed the opening round.

“The reality is that he is a natural talent when it comes to coding because he catches on quickly. When he ranked number one in the first round, I expected it because he is way more advanced than I am and so that was one of the things I admire about him,” Wilson said.

They are still waiting on the final results of the challenge.

Wilson noted that coding teaches, “patience, analysing and reasoning”. He is also encouraging parents to remain present at every step of their child’s academic journey.

“I always spoke about [Yohan’s parents] in terms of support, he has it all. They always provided this scaffold for him to go higher, now here we are, [with] the results that we worked for,” said Wilson.

Yohan’s mother, Rekha Advani advises parents to remain supportive “even in the times of frustration”.

“Just be patient and be there for them. All they need is support, care, and someone to listen to them. Just be there as a parent,” she said.