PORT MARIA, St Mary — Sixteen-year-old Micah Rowe of Jackson Town, Trelawny, has no regrets that he followed in his brother’s footsteps and enrolled in Prospect College four years ago. In fact, he embraced the opportunities available at the 70-year-old semi-military institution in St Mary and, with an impressive academic record, he is this year’s valedictorian.

As a tenth grader Rowe copped five distinctions and two credits at the Caribbean Secondary Examinations Council (CSEC) level, and he is now awaiting results for three other subjects. In addition to being named valedictorian and given the designation of captain, he also received a cash prize of US$250. More importantly, he has received a full scholarship to Caribbean Maritime University where he will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Rowe credits Prospect College, which provides fully funded education to Jamaican boys, with his growth into a “young man who is ready to make a positive contribution to society”.

Prospect College’s valedictorian for 2026, Micah Rowe, is embraced by proud relatives after last Saturday’s graduation ceremony. (Photo: Ingrid Henry)

For him, it was not important that it was an all boys’ school, he just needed somewhere where he could “avoid all distractions and do well”.

Prospect College was established in 1956 by the late British baronet Sir Harold Mitchell on his property, Prospect Plantation, in western St Mary. Designed to instill young boys with moral values and discipline, the school operates as a residential institution for males aged 14-18 who attend on full scholarships.

For nearly 70 years the Mitchell/Green Foundation has continued to fund the school, providing accommodation, tuition and paying CSEC exam fees.

Members of the 2026 graduating class of Prospect College. (Photo: Ingrid Henry)

Speaking during Saturday’s graduation ceremony, guest speaker Paula Llewellyn, Kings Counsel and former Director of Public Prosecutions, paid homage to the school’s benefactors.

“Sir Harold Mitchell and his descendants, the Greens, have made sure that so many of these young lives over the years do well and continue to do well to make Jamaica better,” she said.

Llewellyn described the college as ‘a jewel’ nestled in the hills of St Mary that has been building character for seven decades.

Mayor of Port Maria Fitzroy Wilson (left) and principal of Prospect College, Gregory Wint, at last Saturday’s graduation ceremony at the 70-year-old institution. (Photo: Ingrid Henry)

The seasoned attorney lamented the indiscipline too often seen in Jamaica today and pointed to Prospect College as a solution.

“We are witnessing too much of the ‘chaka chaka’. The ‘ray ray’ and ‘borism’. The discourtesy even from people in authority who should know better. So [it is good] to see that there is an institution that has made sure every young man is trained, [and there are] parents who want ‘broughtupsy’, who want their child to be a model citizen as how these young men are,” Llewellyn said.

— Ingrid Henry