Colombo/ Sri Lanka – Brian Kingston, a student at the Ratmalana College for the Blind, made history as the first visually challenged student in the school to achieve outstanding academic excellence, obtaining the highest 9 A* in the 2020 GCE Ordinary Level examination.
As a self-dependent person, the 16-year-old student has never attended extra classes throughout his entire school life.
In an interview with A24 News Agency, Kingston explained the hardships that he went through, mentioning that he spent 4 hours a day traveling from his residential area in Mattakkuliya heading to his school in Rathmalana.
Also, he complained about the high prices of writing machines in Sri Lanka, calling on relevant authorities to reduce or waive taxes to help sight-impaired and physically challenged people obtain them.
Kingston’s “biggest strength”, his mother, highlighted to A24 the difficulties her son has been through during the examination period.
“He was housebound for two months due to Dengue in January of the year in which he sat for the GCE Ordinary Level examination. He also contracted Covid-19 and was not able to attend tuition classes, having them online instead. He achieved this success after much of hard work,” she said.
Describing him as a “God-given gift”, his mother hoped to see him in a position where he will achieve the international limelight, referring to philanthropists to give a helping hand to reach this goal.
Attributing the success to his mother, Brian said “I will exert my utmost efforts to make my mother happy and proud. She guided me through each and every step of my journey and the faith she has in me has given me the strength to achieve my dreams.”
The student expressed his need for a recorder and a laptop that will facilitate the learning process, especially during exams.
Now, Kingston represents a source of inspiration to his peers to take the cue and learn how positive minds can overcome all obstacles ahead.