SUNDAY Observer tracked down a number of past classmates of prime minister-in-waiting Andrew Holness and got some insights into his life as a teenager attending St Catherine High school in Spanish Town.

1. Leonie A (Dixon) Stovall

Having attended one of the largest high schools in the Caribbean with the future Prime Minister of Jamaica is indeed an honour. Being in the same classes with Andrew Holness from grade eight through to sixth form was a very competitive atmosphere. Our class was comprised of very smart students, the cream of the crop, who today are successful individuals. However, when it comes to the “Great Debaters” Andrew stood out.

Leonie A (Dixon) Stovall (former head girl) – Manager/VP, Financial Institution, New York, USA

2. Bryan Hastings

Funny it was, in the excitement of high school challenges and victories, there was this boy, from where I don’t know, who always presented himself as the leader of our pack.

Even more dramatic, he always did so with little or no opponents, most saw him as the one who wanted to represent us in student life — from the field, classroom and school. The voyage was good.

Bryan Hastings – Manager, Information Systems Jamaica

3. Georgia Lawrence

I have always known Andrew Holness to be a very intelligent, articulate and determined person. From his early high school years and throughout, he displayed some good leadership qualities which were further strengthened by his roles as form leader and headboy. Andrew was always politically inclined — no debate about that! He was destined to be a leader and a good one I know he will be.

Georgia Lawrence – New York City Department of Education, Maths Teacher USA

4. Howard Taffe

I met Andrew in 1984 after being placed in the same class. A class of students which evolved into what we can describe as a family. From earlier on, I perceived Andrew to be the quiet pleasant little boy.

However, he was a giant in the making.

He was not the rowdy or mischievous type, but got very excited when it came to academic activities such as debates, professional clubs and student leadership. And it was no surprise when he later became head boy and valedictorian.

I was particularly impressed with his involvement and successes in the Junior Achievement Program at St Catherine High. Andrew loved playing money football. Thinking about it now, I wonder if it was the game he loved or just the idea of coming out on top.

Howard Taffe – HACT Technologies Ltd, United Kingdom/Canada

5. Carl Rowe

Andrew and I grew up in the same community of Ensom City in Spanish Town. We both went to St. Catherine High together and we were in the same class together for about six or seven years. Most of us who knew him well could have told the nation back then that this would have happened.

Karl A Rowe – Senior Accountant, Seprod Limited Jamaica

6. Karren Dunkley

As schoolmates, we participated in many of the same clubs and student leadership programs, most notably debate, drama, and student council. We knew and developed relationships with each other’s families, and shared several friends in common, including his beautiful wife Juliet. Worthy of note is that we won the 1987 Drama Festival Award, receiving a silver medal at the National competition, Andrew was the leading actor.

Karren Dunkley – Deputy Chief, The School District of Philadelphia, United States.