Brown’s Town Community College faces competition
Two more high schools in the parish introduce sixth-form programmes
At least two St Ann high schools have introduced sixth-form programmes for the new school year, bringing competition to the Brown’s Town Community College which has been providing this service for several years.
York Castle and Ferncourt high schools have joined Ocho Rios High in giving students the option of continuing their studies at these institutions instead of moving on to the community college.
While many have still opted to move on to the community college, acting principal of Brown’s Town Community College Mary Simmonds said the institution has been affected somewhat; however, it is not detrimental at this point.
“We have had some impact, yes, but it is not detrimental at this time,” she told the Jamaica Observer North East.
Simmonds said the institution will be better able to assess the impact after the enrolment figures have been analysed.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the School Board Dr Michael Whittingham said the institution is one of the top performers in CAPE across the island, topping several subject areas.
“We have felt some challenges recently because a number of the high schools in the area have actually started sixth-form programmes and they are therefore competing with us for the sixth-form students,” Dr Whittingham said.
“However, I want to remind the students here and the students who potentially would be looking to come to Brown’s Town Community College that our track record of performance and high achievements is noteworthy.”
He pointed to a number of subject areas the institution has excelled in at the CAPE level.
In Electrical and Electronic Technology unit one, he said, the college was on the territorial merit list.
The institution also excelled in unit two, having being named the second top performer in the island. They were also top 10 performers in Computer Science, Biology and Chemistry.
“I use this opportunity to acknowledge the effort of the students and the teachers of the faculty and other supporters,” he said.
-Renae Dixon
