PORUS High School is proving that a student’s starting point does not have to determine where they finish as it has recorded a jump in its overall Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination passes from 49 per cent in 2024, and 53 per cent in 2025, to 65 per cent this year.

Principal Marlene Murray argues that the improvement is more than a statistic, it is evidence of what can happen when students struggling academically enter the classroom and are met with targeted interventions, patience, and opportunities to discover their strengths.

“For the most part many of the [students] come in with the prerequisites of the primary system not being attended to and so they would not have mastered the primary curriculum fully. Some would have come in with different types of parental challenges, and we have a number of students who are coming in from children’s homes, and so one of the first things that we tend to do is attend to the psychosocial condition, the mental condition, of our students. We have a lot of empowerment sessions for our students — that’s one of the key areas. We also have extensive extra class programmes and the psychosocial extra class programme that we hold,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

She added that the school has also implemented Saturday classes and encourages students to create vision boards — initiatives which she believes have contributed to their academic and personal growth. Additional support from the Ministry of Education, the school board, and political representatives have also played a role in helping to improve the school’s academic standing, said Murray.

“I think the most impressive one for us was the [CSEC] mathematics [passes], because last year we were at basically two per cent. However, with assistance from our regional math coordinator, Dr White, the head of the math department, and administrators, the mathematics scores moved from two per cent to 22 per cent this year.

“That positively impacted the overall move because we were making strides, but… the math pushed down the average in former years, so when it moved into double digits this year that positively impacted the overall average within the institution,” said the principal.

She added that the school had 100 per cent passes in physical education, biology and electronic document preparation and management (EDPM). Also, the students in skills-based subjects had relatively high pass marks too, with the school attaining 100 per cent passes in the subjects clothing and textile and food and nutrition. Additionally, the school recorded 87 per cent passes in family resource management, 63 per cent for human and social biology, and 68 per cent in building technology — all improvements over last year.

“We’re humbled by the results. It reinforces once more that teamwork really makes a difference… As a team we pray and we have daily self-devotions, and we see the impact of that. As a principal I am humbled. I’m grateful to the team and I’m grateful to God.

“We have the strategies, yes, but it took a while because we were on a pause before Hurricane Melissa, and we had the COVID-19 pandemic hit us all, but we are recuperating well and have to give God thanks,” she told the Observer.

Murray added that she believes the future of Porus High School is bright as younger students entering are seeing how students are rewarded for their academic success, and they are putting in the work to reap the benefits.

“People would have seen online that we have this big fanfare where our students get the limousine service; we take them to a nice restaurant; and they have dinner with the vice-principal, principal, a few members of the board, administrators, and those students who do well. We dine with them, and then they would be featured in the social space. Many students aspire to be on the principal’s honour roll, and graduation is a big thing,” said Murray.

“We noticed that when these upcoming students come to graduation and they see the excitement for students who have done well in the… examination, that would motivate them to do well,” the principal said.

She urged other schools to embrace the diversity of their population and tailor learning to get the best out of each student.

“When we recognise that some are going to be very academically inclined and gravitate to the traditional subjects, and others, maybe the skilled subjects would suit them better, we really have to appreciate and nurture those who take another path. That’s the type of message we send,” she said.