SHEFFIELD, Westmoreland — The Grange Hill High School in Westmoreland recently celebrated 50 years of existence and outstanding service to students in and around the western Jamaica parish.

The week-long celebrations started on August 10 with a parade in the town of Grange Hill, where the school’s achievements were highlighted. The hosting of a church service, a health fair on the school’s compound, a beach party, a meet and greet session on the school’s compound later followed. The icing on the cake, however, was a banquet held at the Negril Hills Golf Club in the resort town of Negril.

During the banquet four former principals — AR Austin, his wife Joyce, Verol McNeil and Alton Ruddock — were awarded for their sterling contribution to the development of the institution.

Current principal Errol Stewart was also lauded for his role in the development of the school.

Stewart attended the school as a student between 1971 and 1976, and after receiving his tertiary education, he returned to teach there in 1981. He was appointed principal in 2010.

It was under his leadership that the school, which is located in a crime-prone community, went through a period of transformation.

The institution, which in 2012 played in the final of the Ben Francis Cup football competition for the first time, is said to be “the leading work experience institution” within Westmoreland and Hanover in the hospitality industry. Roughly 70 per cent of the students receive employment at the various companies where they did their work experience.

Over the last two years, the school gained a 100 per cent pass in business subjects and has performed creditably in this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) — the institution’s best performance in its 50 years of existence.

“I am very privileged to be a part of this 50th celebration and being a past student, I am contributing whatever I can contribute with the strong support of core persons around me. Without them, it would not be possible,” expressed Stewart, as he paid tribute to his teachers, who have continued to serve above the call of duty, and other stakeholders who have made the school a success.

“Very important though, outside of CXC, we added value when we have students going into the workplace and they are rated highly in the skill areas. In the last few years, we started some TVET (National Technical and Vocational Educational and Training) programmes here, electrical installation and plumbing, and we are talking about 80-odd per cent pass in those new areas. In addition to that, we offer our buildings facility to outsiders in the evenings for unattached youth programmes that are going very well. We have offered our facility for persons who have left school many years ago and we are offering them skills training which is being supported by the Member of Parliament, the ministry of education and HEART, and we are seeing great success. We are touching and changing lives in Grange Hill,” Stewart stressed.

The institution is currently on a drive to construct an auditorium by year end, at an estimated cost of $10 million. So far, it has received over $2 million in pledges. The amount is to be matched by two past students, Dennis Hawthorne and Vernon Baccas.

During the banquet, the school recognised a number of individuals in the areas of long service, special awards and certificate of appreciation.

Three past students who have supported the institution over the years — Dr David Garwood, Baccas and Hawthorne, the owner of Dennis Shipping — as well as Winston Wellington, an “adopted past student”, who is the owner of Travellers Beach Resort in Negril and chairman of the Negril Education Environment Trust (NEET), were also specially recognised.

Guest speaker at the banquet, Samuel Bulgin, attorney general of the Cayman Islands, who is also a past student of Grange Hill High, urged the past students to support the projects that the school has embarked on.

“We the alumni through the past students’ association directly or in conjunction with the parent/teacher body gather funds to provide or supplement funding for concrete projects that Grange Hill High School identifies, and seek to improve the learning experience of the students,” he argued.

“Perhaps we can also help to strengthen areas identified as weak or in need of improvement in the institution. Areas identified by the teachers and staff of Grange Hill (High) or by the board or by the inspectorate process. You see, our aim would be to ensure that Grange Hill High remains one of the premier institutions, if not the premier institution in the west.

Member of Parliament for Westmoreland Western, Dr Wykeham McNeil in his greetings commended the principal, the board and teachers for their continuous tremendous work in developing fine minds and athletes.

Grange Hill Junior Secondary School was built on three acres of land which was donated by the West Indies Sugar Company Limited in 1967 to accommodate 810 students. In September 1969, the school opened its doors with an enrolment of 831 students, 27 years later, the school was renamed

Grange Hill Comprehensive High, and was upgraded in 2000 to Grange Hill High School.

Just over 1,200 students have been enrolled at the institution.