THE Ascot Primary School in Portmore, St Catherine is celebrating 10 years of existence with six months of activities, which are being held under the theme “Looking Back At Our Tenure. Stepping Forward Effectively”.

Ascot Primary opened its doors to the first 400 students on September 1, 1997 under the guidance of Morbery Campbell, who was taken out of retirement by the Ministry of Education and Youth to facilitate the start of the institution.

Today, Jean Fearon – the then vice-principal – is principal, having taken over from Campbell who held the post for three years. Georgia Green is the new vice-principal, while the student population has grown to 1,266, with a staff complement of 38 teachers and 15 ancillary workers.

Launched just over three weeks ago with a parents day, the anniversary activities are to culminate next July with a banquet.

Donna Scott-Motley was guest speaker at the launch and encouraged students to aim high, in spite of the challenges they may encounter.

“Aim high, stand out and maintain the excellent standards that the school has embedded in you all,” Scott-Motley urged.

Meanwhile, on December 14, the school held a fund-raising and fun day, and on January 29, will launch its past students’ association.

That will be followed by a ‘Love Day’ in February, when the children will wear red and white and participate in a programme organised by a special committee.

In March, they will participate in a choir competition, while April has been reserved for the “Mr and Ms Ascot” competition.

In May, they will have their child’s month celebrations, host the Foundation Teachers and Parents Award Ceremony, and launch the school’s first magazine.

Following graduation in June, the six months of celebrating will culminate with the banquet.

The school’s principal has, in the interim, boasted of their achievements to date, noting, among other things, that their record of passes in the GSAT had surpassed the regional and national average over the last several years.

At the same time, she said that Ascot has been blessed with dynamic and creative young teachers. The result, she said, has been that the school has managed to excel not only academically but also in the area of sports.

“Sports has been an area where the school has excelled exceptionally well. (There is) netball, volley Ball, football, JTA track meet, Miami Classics, Primary Champs, and students represented Jamaica in long jump in Grand Cayman in 2004,” the principal said.

They have also participated in inter-school activities, such as the Butterkist Competition and the Spelling B championships, as well as the KFC and HIV/AIDS quiz competitions.