West St. George reaps success first up

The West St.George Secondary School, in its first attempt at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), has achieved a pass rate of 59.33 per cent, a performance which is being viewed as evidence of the success of the Education Revolution.{{more}}

A release from the Ministry of Education said the school’s performance is “worthy of praise”, especially when viewed “within their specific context”.

“Without exception, these students did not meet the established standards in order to be awarded passes in the Common Entrance Examination. However, in keeping with the policy of Universal Access to Secondary Education, they were able to access schooling at this level and have, by their success, demonstrated that every child deserves an opportunity to learn,” the release signed by Deputy Chief Education Officer Luis deShong stated.

The school, located at Belair, entered 43 students for the exam. Eighteen students gained five or more passes, with Keyon Constance gaining eight passes and Samoro Richards and Cayce John passing seven subjects each.

Principal of the School Asfo Stephens noted that Constance sat eight subjects and was successful in all of them. Constance received a grade one for Electronic Document Preparation Management, grade twos for Office Administration, Principles of Business, Social Studies, Human and Social Biology, and grade threes for Principles of Accounts, Mathematics, and English A.

The institution, which opened its doors on Monday, September 20th, 2004, received 100 per cent passes in Human and Social Biology, Food and Nutrition, Home Management and Physical Education. A 91 per cent pass rate was attained in Electronic Document Preparation Management, while Social Studies gained passes of 84 per cent.

“I am very satisfied with their performance, and this only came with the efforts of a dedicated staff,” said Stephens.

The principal said at his school, several training sessions are usually held for the staff, and this has contributed significantly in helping the students to perform well.

He said he wants his students to understand that even though West St.George Secondary School is a fairly new school, they can still perform as well as the traditional schools as long as they make the effort.

“The staff is very dedicated and we have been working assiduously to ensure that the students perform,” said Stephens, adding that some persons criticize the school and try to brand it as loaded with students who can’t perform.

For the new academic year, Stephens said West St.George Secondary will be expanding the programme to make more subject offerings available to students. Four new subjects will be introduced, namely: Agricultural Science, Integrated Science, Woods/ Industrial Arts and Technical Drawing.

Initially, the West St.George Secondary School started with 105 students and was made up of four first form classes. (HN)