School of Advanced Level Studies 2022 graduation ceremony |24 June 2023

Jean-Jacques Eulentin receiving his trophy from President Ramkalawan

Jean-Jacques Eulentin

wins President’s Cup

By Sunny Esparon

Jean-Jacques Eulentin is the winner of the President’s Cup for the School of Advanced Level Studies (Sals) 2022.

He was presented with his award by President Wavel Ramkalawan and First Lady Linda Ramkalawan during the school’s graduation ceremony yesterday at the International Conference Centre Seychelles.

The award goes to the person who since day one, has been consistent in all areas of school life. The student has been amazing in supporting peers and can be easily qualified as a role model in terms of discipline and character. The award recipient has also received very good results and has shown the ability to take the challenges faced head on, remaining consistent throughout. The person has been an active participant in many school activities, and has represented the school with pride.

The receiver is also known to be self-driven, enthusiastic about exploring new avenues and is therefore perfectly fitted into SALS expectations for this award.

Speaking to Seychelles NATION, an exuberant Jean-Jacques Eulentin stated that his peers had told him that he would win but he did not expect it to come true.

“I would like to thank God and give Him all the glory because it is because of Him that I am here today, and I would also like to thank my family who I have leaned on for the last two years, my friends at SALS who lifted me up whenever I fell and my lecturers,” said Jean-Jacques.

Jean-Jacques was team captain for his athletic team and he participated in cultural activities including the Creole Festival. He attended meetings and concentrated in his studies.

“I focused on my studies and I put in the effort and I built up a good relationship with my teachers. Whenever I needed help, I was not ashamed to ask for it.”

For his future, he is thinking about studying medicine. Jean-Jacques’ subjects were chemistry, maths and biology.

Other than the President’s Cup, he also won other prizes, including a laptop sponsored by the Office of the President, a smartphone sponsored by Cable and Wireless, a branded gift set sponsored by Airtel and a voucher from Savoy Seychelles Resort and Spa, as well as a scholarship from the Ministry of Education.

Another proud and happy teenager was Jayant Gondariya who was the best performer academically, winning multiple awards; namely Best performer in Biology which was sponsored by Printec Press Holdings and the Seychelles Island Foundation, Best performer in Chemistry which was sponsored by Mr Siva from Poonkyl Trading and Best performer in Mathematics as well as the Patrick Lespoir Award. This has been sponsored by his sister, Moreen Muller and his partner, Christine Hoareau.

In addition to all of that, Jayant Gondariya was also the Overall Best Academic performer and the Minister’s cup winner where he won a laptop sponsored by the minister, a shield sponsored by SALS’ Governing Board and a branded gift set from Airtel.

There was also the presentation of academic excellence award, which rewards students who have managed to score a total of 30 points and above across their 3 or 4 A-Levels. The prizes have been sponsored by the leader of government business in the National Assembly, Honourable Bernard Georges and Flavour House Catering Seychelles. The winners were Jayant Gondariya, Aswin Sathiyamoorthy, Ronneesha Uranie, Andrea Louise, Jean-Jacques Eulentin, Dylan Azemia, Tyrell Servina and Bradley Victor.

The second best academic performer was Aswin Sathiyamoorthy and the third best academic student was Ronneesha Uranie, who received a shield and a branded gift set sponsored by Airtel and a cash prize sponsored by Honourable Sylvianne Lemiel, Cable and Wireless Seychelles and Airtel Seychelles.

The Governing Board Award which this year replaced the SNYC award went to  Andrea Louise.

There was also the Principal’s cup which is awarded to a student whose academic performance is worth mentioning. The award recognises students who may not have necessarily had the best profile upon entering SALS, but who has shown remarkable efforts throughout their academic journey and managed to score very good results in their finals. The winner was Bradley Victor. The prize for this award has been sponsored by Savoy Seychelles Resort and Spa.

As for best performers by subject, the other graduates were Ronneesha Uranie for best performer in Geography, Parthiv Vekaria was the best performer in Computer Science, Andrea Louise was awarded best performer in English Language, English Literature and History, and Mannon Vel was the best performer in French.

During yesterday’s ceremony, SALS principal, Elaine Larue, announced that in 2022 there was a record of 100% pass rate in 8 out of the 10 subjects, which students sat, in comparison to 3 subjects in 2021. The overall pass rate was at 95% and the number of entries that received a score of grade C or better was at 51%. Overall, 60% of the students who completed SALS managed to secure a scholarship. Six of the learners also received a Cambridge Best Learner Award this year.

In addition, she stated that “students’ academic profiles when entering into the institution need to be at par with what they are required to do at A levels. Secondary schools need to encourage more of their learners to sit for the Extended tier of their IGCSEs, so that the overall quality of the grades achieved across all subjects are further enhanced when students start their A Levels”.

She further went on to state that the aim is to chart a new direction in rebranding the institution as a Centre of Excellence and to promote SALS as an institution that is able to provide quality teaching and learning, increasing productivity, embracing technology and improving the quality of education.

“Through the Academic committee and the ongoing support of our Deputy Principal, we are now in a much better position to oversee studies and ensure that academic excellence is maintained across all levels,” she stated.

One of the measures SALS has taken in an attempt to offer the learners more prospects and opportunities and in response to the call for more qualified Seychellois progressively taking up key positions, this year, is the introduction of new subjects namely Economics, Psychology, Travel & Tourism and Law. “This, we have done, in accordance with our mission statement which aims to bridge the gap between education and the national labour market.”

Mrs Larue left the graduates with three cardinal rules: “Where you choose to invest your blood, sweat and tears must be consistent with the person you aspire to be. Slowly is sometimes the fastest way to get to where you want to be. There is always a mountain, for every valley. So keep climbing.”