Two rural schools make ‘notable improvement’ in CSEC Exams

THE Emmanuel High School Mesopotamia(EHSM), is one of two rural secondary schools that have made notable improvement in the 2024 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate( CSEC) Examinations, raising their pass percentage from 45.75 in 2023, to 61.02 in 2024. The other is the Sandy Bay Secondary School.

In 2023, the EHSM recorded 45.75 per cent passes in the CSEC examinations. This year, the pass percentage increased by 15.28 per cent and rose to 61.02 per cent.

Vice Principal, Brian Burke, told SEARCHLIGHT yesterday, September 5, 2024 in an interview that teachers and the Board at the school are happy with this year’s CSEC results.

“We get a lot of these students with reading issues and so forth, and we are so happy that we are able to make an impact on their lives,” he said.

Burke added that sometimes people tend to look at the end result, but don’t look at how far they have gotten.

“Some students, they might not have been successful…in terms of the strides they would have made in their educational journey; we are happy that we are able to contribute, make a difference, make an impact in people’s lives…” he said.

Burke, who has been vice principal for two years but served as a teacher at the school since 1988, said that he has encountered a number of students who don’t believe that they can succeed in their academics.

He said students enter the school with a negative self image as some may not have passed to attend a “socalled top school.”

Burke said that the goal of the teachers and Board at the school is to give the students “the right mentality” and make them believe that they can succeed.

He said that the teachers were motivated to reap better results in this year’s results after last year’s performance.

Burke also shared that for the first time in a long while, the school has implemented a numeracy test for the first formers in order to assess how well they perform in Mathematics.

He said that the students would usually be tested in their literacy. However, Mathematics is one of the biggest hurdles for the students at EHSM.

The EHSM was one of 13 schools whose students recorded a creditable pass average- between 60 and 80 per cent. Another school that showed notable improvement in this year’s CSEC examination was the Sandy Bay Secondary School (SBSS).

In 2023, SBSS recorded a pass percentage of 55.83, and in 2024, the school’s pass percentage increased to 73.64 per cent. This figure represents an increase of 17.80 per cent. Both the Principal and Deputy Principal of the SBSS were off-premises and not available for an interview.

The Ministry of Education congratulated all students, and extended gratitude to the principals, teachers and staff at all schools for their support of the students.

“We are cognizant of the fact that outcomes in education are measured, not only in quantitative terms, but also in qualitative terms; therefore, the value added to the lives of all of the students, the top performers, as well as those whose performance can be improved, is greatly appreciated.”