Students charged to be high achievers
THERE is a call for students heading to secondary school next term to ensure that they carefully plan towards a future of high attainments. Delivering the keynote address at Anchovy Primary School’s graduation at Mount Carey Baptist Church in St James recently, technical officer with Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Sheldon Freeburn says it is crucial for them as they embark on the next six or more years of what will be a very intensive period of their lives.
“Stay focussed and for you to achieve excellence, you have to plan to achieve, and plan to execute,” he told the students, adding that with all success comes with preparation, and with that they can achieve academic accomplishments.
Freeburn, who is a past student at the school and justice of the peace, urged the students to remain focussed as they move on to another chapter of their education journey. He said their primary school has prepared them well, and based on the recent exam results, “Jamaica’s future is bright”.
He added that with students no longer requiring a guarantor to access tertiary financing from the Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB), there is little barrier to attaining advanced education.
“There is little financial worry to go to university, after you achieve your subjects,” he said.
“It is there for you, so I am encouraging you to take that step and plan. Stick to your plan, and once you are confident in what you want to achieve, the rest will follow. Be leaders, support each other.”
Principal of the school Cheryl Grant-Mitchell reported that 90 per cent of the students were placed on pathway one from the 2024 Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams sitting, and there was a 98.8 per cent positive performance. “We have put in the work, and we are reaping the rewards,” she told her audience.
In PEP, students are placed on three pathways designed to meet their level of competence. Pathway one is for students who are performing satisfactorily, the second pathway is for children who have some form of delayed learning, and the third is for students with special needs.
