AT age 17, Andrea Grey realised she loved teaching, and used her mother’s shed at the back of her Central Village, St Catherine home to have summer classes for children living in her community.

Today, after doing her first degree, Grey has chosen to educate children, particularly those preparing for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).

“I would use my mother’s shed to keep summer classes for children there. My mother gave my siblings and me lunch money and we would save it and cook stewed chicken and rice for the children; that was how much effort we placed into it. And she would get upset and say ‘but unnuh no easy’; however, it is something I’ve always enjoyed,” Grey said.

She said she decided to work full-time as a GSAT tutor, starting the programme with students from grade four, when her daughter Shaielle sat the examination five years ago.

“When my daughter was sitting the examinations, I left the private sector. It was a heartfelt decision and I don’t regret it,” she said.

“When I’m able to give my service, I feel good within myself. It’s not about money or getting exposure, it’s selfless, and when the students excel I get maximum satisfaction from it.”

She said some of her relatives volunteer, while she pays other tutors to come in and teach different subject areas on the GSAT syllabus. One-on-one tutoring is available for slower learners, or those performing below average.

“We pay special attention to students who may be slow. I remember I had a student with autism once and I never gave up on him. I believe each child, if given attention and patience, can make it in life. The sky is the limit and I don’t want any student to fall through the cracks,” she said.

After Grey’s first batch of students was successful in the GSAT examinations, she and family members thought up the name ‘Scholars’ for the institution, and decided to offer scholarships to children from Central Village who could not afford to pay.

“A lot of children cannot afford the classes and need the help, so I allow them to come. Once the zeal is there I will work with them and I encourage students to try harder each time they submit work to me,” she said.

The classes are located at Richmond Academy on Half-Way-Tree Road, a location chosen in part, Grey said, so her out-of-town students can meet children from other areas to improve their socialisation skills.

“I often let them chant ‘Yes we can’ in classes to show them that there is really no limitation on how far they can go and how much they can achieve. I believe in Garvey’s teaching, especially his famous words, ‘If you have no confidence in self you are twice defeated in the race of life’, and I use these to push the students to do well,” she said.