ST JAMES, Jamaica – Students attending Black River High School in St Elizabeth are being strategically positioned with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as the institution commenced classes on Monday, marking the start of the 2025/26 academic year.

Robotics and coding will be among the key features of this year’s curriculum, providing students with opportunities to build critical skills, according to principal, Christopher Romans.

He told JIS News that the school began integrating robotics into its grade-eight and -nine programmes last year and has now introduced coding at grade eight to complement this innovation.

“This is just a natural thing to do. When you look around in the world and where the world is going in terms of technology, it’s important that our students are so exposed to these areas as opportunities where they can move into as new and future technology,” Romans outlined.

He added that the initiative is supported by the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, which provided computers to enhance the learning process.

Additionally, the school invested in specialised robotics kits to further facilitate hands-on engagement and skill development.

The institution’s expansion in STEM follows notable academic success in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations during the last academic year.

Romans reported that mathematics passes at Black River High climbed to 67 per cent, while English Language achieved an 87 per cent success rate, with more than 156 students securing passes in that subject area.

“We had over 80 students this year passing five subjects, including maths and English; and that is not including students who passed five subjects, including City and Guilds and other combinations. So we have to be proud of the results this year,” the principal stated.

“The aim this year, is to improve… performances among our students and also to improve on our successes from the last school year”.

Black River High School officially opened its doors on Monday with a student population of 1,516. Throughout the day, students participated in homeroom activities including registration, data collection, and discussions on expectations for the 2025/26 academic year.

Senior staff, including the principal, vice principals, and supervisors, were present to ensure a smooth and orderly start to the school year.

“If we can get the partnership again from the parents, which is very critical, and from other stakeholders, we expect to do even more this academic year,” Romans underscored.

–       JIS