iPhone bet spurs 13-y-o to ace CSEC English language

Kahlaliah Moore made a bold bet with her mother, Kayon Hutchinson-Moore - if she got a grade one in CSEC English language, then her mom would have to buy her an iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Hutchinson-Moore said she instantly agreed, because even though she knew the then grade-seven student at Titchfield High School was brilliant, she was doubtful that she would have aced the subject. Little did she know that the 13-year-old would ace the exam, leaving Hutchinson-Moore both elated and doing some mathematics.

"As an English teacher, I was thrilled that she actually wanted to sit it. I told her I would allow her to do it, but just for the experience. I wanted her to get familiar with the exam structure, and so on. I think that she would have passed, but I did not believe she would have got a grade one. So now I am tasked with finding over $100,000 for the phone. I sat down with her father and looked at the price and I am saying, what are we going to do?" she said between laughter.

Hutchinson-Moore, who is also a guidance counsellor, said she taught Kahlaliah at an extension school at the College of Arts, Science and Education (CASE), but the youngster did not appear to be fully focused on her studies.

"I honestly did not expect her to get a one, and one of the reasons is that she wasn't really studying or revising. I taught at the extension school at CASE and she came to class with me, and she was not so attentive as I would want her to be. She is a very laid-back girl and she likes to form friendships, so she took some of the opportunity to do that," Moore said.

A past student of Rock Hall Primary School in Portland, Kahlaliah said she aced the subject by revising past papers.

"I am very strong in English and as my mom said, I didn't really revise a lot. But what I did was just to remember the format, and I also went through a few past papers," she said.

She told THE STAR that although she was confident of copping a grade one in the subject, her nerves acted up on the day of the exam.

"I was so nervous, and I remember just walking in the exam room and wanted to come out. But my mother kept telling me how proud she was of me and that I should not be scared. After I completed the paper, my confidence level went up again as I knew I had got a grade one. So now I have a brand new iPhone 16 heading my way," the teenager said between laughter.

Hutchinson-Moore said that last month when CSEC results were released, it was screams of joy that informed her of Kahlaliah's success.

"I remember just hearing a scream because, honestly, I didn't even remember that was the day that the results were coming out. She came in and jumped on me and both of us dropped on the bed, and she kept saying that she got a one. Even when she said she got a one, it was not registering, and she told me CXC came out and she got a one. And when I saw the result, I just remember screaming out to my mother next door that Kahlaliah got a one," Hutchinson-Moore said.