Looking in at the Immaculate Conception High School for Girls located along the Constant Spring Road, St Andrew, one could not guess that the pastel pink and green buildings, set back within acres of well-manicured grounds, house a public high school and not a private country club.

Since 1941, the school has occupied the land and buildings that formerly housed the elite Constant Spring Hotel, a property that borders upper St Andrew’s exclusive Constant Spring Golf Course, surrounded by several of Kingston’s wealthiest neighbourhoods. The approach goes up a pleasant tree-lined drive, devoid of even the occasional bits of garbage that have come to be expected at other schools.

The classrooms, most of which surround a central quadrangle, are bright and airy, with glass windows, ceiling fans, and the facilities to afford each student her own desk and chair. There are no scribblings on the walls, and the bathrooms look and smell like those at a five-star hotel. Throughout the halls and corridors are potted plants, the occasional water cooler, and blocks of lockers and cupboards for the girls to leave extra items during class. The science laboratories look like world-class research facilities, the library provides a vast repository of books, current magazines and newspapers, and the art rooms inspire and exude creativity. Between classes, sixth formers can sit and study in an air-conditioned lounge decked out with leather couches, a computer and a mini-library. The school has three audio-visual rooms, fully equipped with televisions, vcrs, projectors and the like, while the four computer labs on campus provide Internet access to the school’s 1,500 students.

The sterling physical infrastructure aside, Immaculate is not completely unlike other high schools. The average class size is about 42 students to one teacher in the lower school, while the sixth form is actually larger than most, with close to 250 students enrolled. The school fee, at $8,500, is not the highest among schools in Kingston, and the school offers the same curriculum and uses the same school texts as others. So what is it that led to Immaculate being named Jamaica’s number one school in a survey conducted by Dr Dennis Minott?

“When you think about the resources that we have here… we certainly have an edge,” admitted vice-principal Dancell Taylor, who was in charge of operations while principal Sister Mary Catherine Aarons was briefly away. “But it’s the students who come to us, for one,” added Taylor. “The moment they come to school, they know why they are here and what is expected of them. The teachers also – everyone knows why they are here and what they are here for.”

Among the nearly 70 teachers on staff, the average is university educated or trained at teacher’s college. Some hold masters degrees, and two are in the process of completing work towards PhDs, she added.

In respect of the students, some come from well-to-do families and attended elite and demanding private prep schools, while others hail from more humble roots, and excelled at less impressive government-run primary schools. But there is much more that goes into the system that last year produced Jamaica’s top CXC performer.

Immaculate, for instance, offers to all its students more than 40 extra-curricular activities, an impressive list that includes unorthodox options such as Yoga, photography, Japanese language, grooming and etiquette, as well as floral arranging and cake decorating. For students interested in sports, the school offers traditional sports such as track and field, netball, football, tennis, badminton and swimming, in addition to others such as gymnastics, field hockey, golf and horseback riding.

The school also runs what may very well be Jamaica’s most impressive high school music programme, which has produced a number of top solo musicians, as well as a full orchestra, a concert band, and an internationally competitive choir.

Discipline among Immaculate students was evident. When the Sunday Observer visited the school on Friday, the students were in class, but once the lunch bell rang, the girls quietly exited classrooms in queues as they headed toward the cafeteria. Not one student took a shortcut across the lawns, and each issued a clear and confident ‘Good Morning’ to any adult she passed.

“There is a rulebook for teachers and one for students, and each person gets one when they come to ICHS, so everyone is very clear from the outset what the rules are and what the punishments are, too,” said Audrey Ashman, master teacher and head of the Business Department.

Most of the problems, she pointed out, could be and are solved through mediation, and those that cannot be addressed, usually pointing to larger and more serious issues with the individual students, are referred to the school’s guidance counsellor, Dr Dorothy Pennant.

Every morning, before school starts, the tone for the day is set by a devotion/meditation session that every class participates in. During that session, principal Aarons, speaking over the school-wide intercom system, gives pep talks, announces birthdays and other celebrations, as well as any other achievements of the students.

The relationship with parents, too, is essential to maintaining discipline as well as high academic standards. Immaculate parents, pointed out vice-principal Brigette Pinto, are easily accessible, interested in their daughters’ progress, and very supportive of the school in general.

The strong parental support was identified as a key element, particularly in the girls’ academic success. In the same vein, no teacher is allowed to begin the term without a lesson plan reviewed by a department head, and departments meet regularly to discuss new approaches, and to evaluate the students’ progress.

Academically, Immaculate is a demanding school, but to whom much is given, much is expected. Students who need extra attention have the option of attending a homework session supervised by a teacher, after school.

It seems an impressive blueprint for fantastic results, but can the Immaculate formula be replicated in all Jamaica’s high schools? Although the administrators dodged all references to costs and expenditure, vice-principal Taylor did make a salient point. Immaculate can afford to offer this world-class education, she believes, “because we have so much in place already.”

“Physically, everything seems to be in place, so while other schools might need the money for building, or to buy the basics, we have solid infrastructure already so we can devote a lot more funds to focussing on the details,” she said.