They say geniuses are not judged by their clever wordplay but by the hard-work they put in to achieve the required results.

This was clearly shown in the 2017 Primary Leaving Examinations where five pupils from Kigali Parents School were among the 12 who excelled brilliantly.

Ivan Rugamba, 12, was able to put his studious skills to the test by outshining thousands of his counterparts, and he claims to have done so with a cool head and some comforting encouragement from his family.

A resident of Gatare Cell, Niboye Sector in Kicukiro District, Rugamba claims to have encountered very few challenges on his journey to academic excellence. He puts it all to the enormous amount of support from parents, teachers, and friends.

When asked about the inspirational men and women in his life that helped him reach such a feat, he acknowledges the reinforcements of his teachers, especially his Mathematics teacher, Henry Kubwimana, who taught him to "always go the extra-mile”, with regards to burning the midnight oil.

"I worked really hard”, he said "…and I would often visit the library”, when asked how he was able to achieve higher grades than most of his peers.

He also acknowledged the motivational lectures from his parents whom he said pushed him forward when he begun to show signs of tediousness.

 His mother, Iphigenie Dushimemungu, said of her son: "He had trouble in the initial stages but was able to put in more efforts in the subjects he was struggling with.”

Asked what subject combination he would like to take on in A-level, he chose PCM (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics) as his preferred choice which would also allow him the opportunity to do engineering once he gets to university.

Asked to give a few words of encouragement to the young ones below him, he asserted: "I want other students behind me to keep up the faith and maintain the courage and discipline”.

Ivan Rugamba, being the eldest son of his parents, listed them as an influential part of his life that enabled him to succeed. A fan of the Harry Potter novels, Rugamba is also a good time manager and also loves going to the Kigali Public Library in Kacyiru to read interesting story books they have on offer.

‘‘I often drop him off to the library because he loves reading a lot,’’ his mother says.

Besides books, Rugamba is also a staunch Catholic like his parents. In addition to that, his ability to put school first above other things, even when he was sick, was what shot the PLE star to the top and helped him gain recognition around the country. 

Results released by the Ministry of Education on Tuesday show that 86.3 per cent of the 228,048 candidates who sat for PLE passed while, in O’ Level about 90 per cent of 96,595 candidates passed.

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