Principal Evette Beecher is contending that Lyssons Primary in St Thomas is one of the most sought after schools in the eastern section of the island.

The school, which has been operating since October 1972, is one of the most desried by parents because of its academic achievements.

“Lyssons a good school miss; a very, very good school,” Pauline Roper stressed when asked why she chose to enrol her son at the institution. “The kids them tend to do very well,” she added.

Last year, the school attained a 97 per cent literacy rate and an 85 per cent numeracy rate, surpassing the national average of 85.5 and 65.7 per cent respectively. Passes in the Grade Six Achievement Test, the principal said, are good and “students are doing well, but there is always room for improvement”.

“My school is in great demand, believe me, it is. But people have to bear in mind that we can take in so much and no more. Even though we say okey we can take no more, we still have to take on because there are persons moving into the area and if they are so close to us it is difficult to send them elsewhere. Of course, some are not financially able to send their children outside of the community,” Beecher told the Jamaica Observer North and East.

Approximately 1,060 students are enrolled at the school, of which 155 are new.

“We have 41 teachers on staff. For grade 1, there are 32 students in each class and for the other grades, they have approximately 40 students in each class. The only exception is grade 4; we try our best to keep it at 30 or a little over,” Beecher said.

With a population of that size, Beecher said the 44-year-old school is looking to make an impact at the national level.

“We are anticipating improvement in every area this academic year at the school level and at the national level. We will be getting into more activities at the national level and we will be trying our best to move the school forward,” she said.

She added that so far, the new school year has begun “well” and that she is not anticipating any difficultties.

“…My only concern just now is a classroom that is not quite ready for the students but we are going to be working on that.

“Sourcing of funds is a problem, but we will try our best here to fix it because you can’t wait on Ministry of Education for everything.

“So, we will do what we can for the benefit of the children,” Beecher assured.