William Merrick lookiing forward to going to Queen's College.

EXCITED DOESN'T QUITE sum up how William Merrick feels about his performance in this year's Common Entrance Exam results.

The Class 4 student at St Gabriel's School is currently in Virginia, United States of America with his mother Vicky Merrick, but his comments were e-mailed to THE NATION.

"This is the best day of my life!" he wrote, "I can't believe I'm in the paper," said this student.

William, whose score of 252.25B landed him in the top ten performers island-wide, said the test was not half as hard as he thought it would be.

He thanked his teachers for preparing him for the May 15 exam and looks forward to going to Queen's College because it is closer to his home, his friends are going there, and it is a "good school", he said.

William's advice to students writing the exam this year: "The five keys to a good mark are practice, study, work, determination, and prayer".

His mother Vicky said her son was a special boy and was loved very much by she and her husband Greg.

"God blessed him with intelligence, there is no question of that. But William is a very determined boy. He has had to deal with some issues in his life like focus and attention issues as well as real communication problems (stammering) for many years.

"The teachers at St Gabriel's School have been absolutely outstanding in nurturing and encouraging this boy over the years.

"They never give up on a student, and William is a good example of that," she said.

(DS)