KINGSTON, Jamaica — The St Catherine-based Charlemont High School is on an upward trajectory in mathematics and exemplary performance in English Language, coming out of the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

Students more than doubled the performance numbers in mathematics, moving from a 16 per cent pass rate to 36 per cent, while they maintained an 81 per cent pass rate in English Language.

Principal of the institution, Garth Gayle, outlined some of the strategies undertaken, particularly through the Ministry of Education’s National School Learning and Intervention Plan (NSLIP), noting that the institution got a maths coordinator, who worked with maths teachers in mentorship programmes, and a maths ambassador programme.

“These are initiatives that have helped to assist our students in the maths marathons, and they (mathematics coaches) have to also meet with the teachers at the CSEC level on how to put programmes in place to assist the students in achieving better results,” he told JIS News in an interview.

The NSLIP was instituted by the Ministry of Education to combat COVID-19 learning loss, focusing on core subjects (maths and English) through extra lessons, summer school, digital tools, and psychosocial support, using a bottom-up approach with school-level plans.

The principal noted that the institution has done “very well” over the years, “but this year we would have had a small number of students that sat, and they have  been successful, and for us, we are happy for that, because again, that is part of the upward trajectory that is ongoing,” the principal said.

Mathematics teacher at the school, Sharlene Mills, said the upward movement in the subject can also be attributed to “a complete change in the maths department’s approach to teaching the subject”.

“So, with our little resources and trying to convince the principal, we try to bring the primary tangible things into the classroom.  We also included a lot of videos, so you know, especially the boys, they love cartoons and stuff like that. For example, the classes dominated by boys, we ensure that we have like cartoon showing mathematics concepts, which really developed their interest,” she shared with JIS News.

The teacher added that as the maths ambassador and the president for the Quality Education Circle (QEC), for the area that the school is located, at workshops they discovered they were doing some things that could  be done better, “so I realised that we could use tangibles where students could actually do pictures like shading and stuff like that to do mathematics”.

“They were there colouring and shading and joined their own diagrams and in these beautiful diagrams do multiplication and division in mathematics,” the teacher continued.

A QEC is a grouping of all educational institutions – early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary – within a geographical area. It was designed to bring education closer to the community and allow stakeholders to become active participants in the education of the children.

Student, Kayda Lee McLean, received a Grade 2 in the 2025 CSEC exam, but said she was not a lover of mathematics to begin with. “I didn’t like maths because I wasn’t good at it, and at some point,  I just gave up because I was just like, I’m not really passing this subject and I am not really understanding; so, I just gave up,” she said.

Having entered Mills’ class, “she encouraged me to work harder. She was always serious about mathematics, because she had a natural love for it, so if I was there and I was doing the question, and if I was doing something wrong, she would guide me and when I felt like I couldn’t bother, she would shake me up and tell me to work it out”.

Ernest Johnson, a member of the mathematics department, said the increase was achieved because of a deliberate decision by the leadership of the institution to “do a whole lot more to get it back up”.

He noted that they ventured into many activities, such as seminars with the Grade 11 students, Match Days, and workshops with students.

“We had classes on Saturdays where we actually helped the students. We actually ventured into some marathons for the students, past paper marathons, two days straight working with the students to improve, and at the end, we realised that we actually moved up. We tried our best as much as possible to make the maths more realistic, real-life situations,” the teacher said.

Deputy Head Girl, Briana Smith, said the school has positively impacted individuals in her family, and they always boast about their school, and since she became a student there, she has experienced the extra effort of teachers to develop students.

“One thing about Charlemont, it is always awarding. They are always giving trophies, of course, awards ceremonies, teachers putting up your pictures in class, and your names and stuff. So, it is really rewarding seeing that my school is amongst the schools that are doing well in CSEC,” she said.

Head Boy, Jehvean Chambers, said he is happy to know that his school is always  improving.

“At Charlemont High School, I get a sense of community, and I am at a place where I feel like I can interact personally with teachers and students, and the staff in general, because the teachers care. This is a home away from home,” he told JIS News.

Meanwhile, Dean of Discipline, Colin McDonnell, said one of the things that they do to maintain order in the mornings, they make sure that students are “ready for school by being properly dressed before they come into school, and not talking about locking them out of school”.

“We have had for the last three and a half years, myself, the principal, and the vice-principal, in the mornings we make sure that their laces are tied, they are wearing the proper pants, they are wearing the proper skirt, and their hair is properly done,” he said, noting that order and discipline contribute to academic success.

– JIS