KINGSTON, Jamaica – Teachers, parents and students of the St Catherine-based Garden Hill Primary and Infant School are still celebrating the success of the small, rural institution in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP).

Over 80 per cent of the 15 students who sat PEP were placed at their high school of choice.

Eleven have been placed at traditional high schools, with boys outperforming the girls.

Principal of the school, Shakira Hudson, credits the performance to measures undertaken to get students back on track after the setbacks caused by COVID-19.

She said that one hour of free extra classes were held Mondays to Wednesdays, and Saturday classes from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

The extra classes were particularly beneficial to students whose parents were not able to assist them with their lessons.

“The onus is on us, the institution, to give them maximum support. This year we took it (extra lessons) on to a greater extent; we went all out,” the Principal said.

“We are grateful. The work that we put in has really paid off, and I have to give credit to my grade-six teacher [Simone Antonio]. I helped with the Saturday classes and all the staff who rallied around the students,” she noted.

Antonio, who conducted the extra lessons, said she has a passion for teaching and wants to see her students succeed.

She stated that as a past student of the school, her teachers were there for her, and “I want to do the same for all students that I encounter”.

Top student, Payton Higgins, who will be going to Kingston College, said he is appreciative of the personal attention he received from the principal, and the efforts of Antonio to prepare the students for PEP.

“She took her time to go to the school for extra classes, just to teach us and get us ready for the exams,” he said.

Higgins stated he is excited to have emerged as the top student for his school and is determined to achieve further success in his education.

Payton wants to motivate other students to pursue excellence. “Your time will come… and you will shine. Everybody has their own time. That is how life is,” he shared.

Meanwhile, the top girl at the school, Kiera Thomas, who will be attending St Catherine High School, said she is “excited and proud of myself”.

Her mother, Latoya Cameron, who is a past student, says the euphoria from her daughter’s success will be with the family for a long time.

She hailed the school, noting that “the teachers helped the family”.

The main objective of PEP is to enhance the academic and critical-thinking capabilities and creativity of students by the end of primary-level education. It commences with a series of assessments in grade four and ends in grade six. The three main categories are Performance Task, Ability Test, and Curriculum Test.

The Ministry’s data show that in the 2023 sitting, girls outperformed boys in Mathematics and Language Arts, and boys achieved higher scores in Science and Social Studies.

A total of 18,451 males and 17,653 females sat this year’s PEP.

– JIS