Three students — one from each county — who scored full marks in the Communication Task paper of the 2018 Grade Six Achievement Test have been awarded a share of $125,000 to cover back-to-school expenses as they prepare for high school.

They are Kayla Harrison, from Greater Portmore Primary; Brian Henry, of Excelsior Primary; and Breanna Phillips, from Unity Primary.

The award was made by processed food company Brunswick, in celebration of its 125th anniversary.

“If we intend to make Jamaica our home, we at Brunswick understand the importance of investing in the nation’s human capital,” Brand Manager Simone McFarlene said.

She added that the company singled out the communications task performance because communication in general is lacking in today’s society.

“We want to encourage critical thinking and writing skills among junior students,” McFarlene said.

“Things have really changed in terms of how we communicate and how we relate to each other. We need to ensure that we always support this area and continue to push for it to be improved,” McFarlene said.

“We decided to have a scholarship programme to celebrate the 125th year of Brunswick, not only as a means to give back to the public, but also to play our part in encouraging more students to continue striving for excellence,” said McFarlene.

The awards, done in partnership with Brunswick’s distributor, Facey Commodity Limited, were presented at a luncheon at Four Seasons Hotel last week Monday.

Immediate Past President of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association Howard Issacs, who brought the keynote address, said scholarships like Brunswick’s motivates progress and are a demonstration of corporate Jamaica’s vision for the future.

“The Brunswick scholarship pointed out that language and communication are crucial for progress. As a society, we need to read and write more,” Issacs said.

The former JTA head charged Brunswick to expand the scholarship so that more children benefit in the future.

“We do want the scholarship to grow; it is something that we would like to maintain in the years to come,” McFarlene told the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

In addition to acing communication task, the Brunswick scholarship awardees got 95 and 100 per cent in some of the other papers, with lowest score being 95 per cent.

Harrison scored 100 per cent in language arts and science, 97 per cent in social studies, and 98 per cent in mathematics. Henry, meanwhile, scored 100 per cent in science and mathematics, 98 per cent in social studies, and 96 per cent in language arts. For her part, Phillips got 98 per cent in social studies, 97 per cent in mathematics, 98 per cent in science, and 95 per cent in language arts.

Issacs urged them to remain focused on their goals and continue to seek knowledge as they go through high school, and implored their parents to continue to support them.

— Jessica Timoll