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President’s College no longer among Top Five secondary schools

Jul 03, 2010 News

School surprised; Baksh says it never was

President’s College, a school which churned out top performers at examinations officered by the Caribbean Examinations Council has found itself off of the list of secondary schools that compete for places nationally, and it has no idea why.
However, the Minister of Education Shaik Baksh yesterday said the school was never among those which competed for places nationally.
When students sat the last Grade Six Assessment, five secondary schools competed nationally to take the best of the best. These schools, as listed by the Ministry of Education, are Queen’s College, Bishops’ High School, St Stanislaus High School, St Rose’s High School, and St Joseph High School.
Chairman of the Board of President’s College, David DeGroot, said that he only became aware of the situation after the results of the last Grade Six Assessment were announced by the Education Minister.
“I don’t understand and I would have to find out just like you,” De Groot said when contacted. He said that the school has maintained a high percentage of passes at all the external examinations, including CAPE and the GCE Advanced Levels.
While Baksh stated that the school never competed for places nationally, a senior education official indicated that President’s College was dropped three years ago.
Baksh said President’s College is a “dorm college” referring to the fact that the school takes in hinterland scholarship students.
The Chairman of the school board indicated that President’s College has not been affected by low-performers who take up the residential places at the College. The cut-off point for hinterland scholarship students entering the school is 475 marks. Students competed for 565 marks at the recent Grade Six Assessment.     “We have no failures,” De Groot said of the hinterland scholarship students. He said an estimated 40 hinterland students are currently attending the school.
A senior education official said grading of schools is purely based on performances over the past three years.
The official indicated that President’s College and Annandale Secondary are listed as the top performing schools on the East Coast Demerara and take top performers from the East Coast.
Baksh said schools compete for the best students based on a cut-off point. For the top school, Queen’s College, the cut-off score is 531, Baksh stated.
President’s College was opened in 1985 as the first boarding school in Guyana and the only secondary school to use a more comprehensive and selective application process.
The school was founded by the late President of Guyana Forbes Burnham, who launched the project in 1983 but died before the school opened.
The school allows students to attend without being residential, thereby functioning as a boarding and a day school.

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