BHS records largest number of graduates this year

Nov 01, 2010 News

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QUEENSTOWN, NEW AMSTERDAM – “You have indeed seized the opportunity while at Berbice High School. We are extremely proud of you. May you continue to aspire towards excellence as you pursue various career paths. I challenge you to keep the morals and values instilled in you while you were at school.”

These were words of encouragement from head teacher of the Berbice High School, Jennifer Rollins.
The top CSEC student was Elizabeth Dianne Fraser who attained 12 subjects with eight grade one passes including four with distinction, three grade two and one grade three. Besides being the school’s best student, this landed her in a tie for the sixth top performer spot in Region Six.
The other two outstanding CSEC students were Javella Rodney with 12 subjects, and Kristel Bahadur with 11.
Charlisa James was the school’s top CAPE performer followed by Lisa Hyderkhan. James secured three passes.
This year saw the largest number of graduating students in the history of the school, 125. In her report, she said that despite challenges, the institution continues to show remarkable improvement at the Caribbean Advance Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and the Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) examinations and ranks among the top performing schools in Guyana.
Of the 151 students to enter in 22 subject areas at this year’s CSEC examination, there were 149 grade one passes; 526 – grade two, 421 – grade three and 178 – grade four passes.
An analysis showed that the Berbice High School recorded an 83 percent pass rate in grades one to three and represents a six percent increase over the 2009 figure. With grade one to four passes this year, the pass rate is 96 percent, a nine percent improvement.
Ninety percent of the candidates secured five or more subjects with grades one to three. Clothing and Textiles, Food and Nutrition, Home Economics Management, Integrated Science, Office Administration, Social Studies, Electronic Document Preparation and Management and Physical Education and Sports got 100 percent passes.
The lowest performance was in physics where the students secured only a 43 percent pass rate.
The head teacher noted that the physical condition and lack of basic equipment adversely affected the CSEC results in all the science subjects, especially Chemistry and Physics. Poor attendance by some students also impacted on the overall performance of the school.
The head teacher disclosed that at the 2010 CAPE, the Berbice High School was ranked third among the ten schools to enter for the examination with its 86 percent pass rate. This was the first time students were sent up after a four-year hiatus.
There was a 100 per cent rate for Communication Studies with grades one to three; In Sociology there was also 100 percent pass rate with grades three to five as was the case in Management of Business with grades four to six.
On September 5, last, the institution celebrated its 94th year of existence. At the beginning of the 2009/2010 academic year, it had a population of 856 students and 35 teachers. She showered kudos on her staff and urged them to remain on the path to success.
Among setbacks facing them are the need for urgent repairs to the science laboratory, adequate furniture for teachers and students, and more as well as updated computer systems.
There is also a need for audio/visual equipment, broadband internet access and educational software, and for an upgraded information technology laboratory.
The members of the Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) continue to play a pivotal role and are in the process of constructing a $13 million audio/visual centre.
The Region Six Democratic Council and the Department of Education were commended for the level of support. Through them renovation work was recently executed on some buildings in the compound and the administrative structure was re-painted.
Director of the University of Guyana Berbice Campus, Professor Daizal R. Samad, the New Amsterdam Mayor and Town Council, Banks DIH, Demerara Distilleries Ltd and Singer Company were among those singled out for their generosity to the BHS.
Assistant Chief Education Officer Secondary, Melcita Bovell, said that it was the team spirit of the institution that led them to rise above their challenges.
She said that personal competence is a key component to the future and urged the students to invest their time wisely.
She said that if certain things are inculcated while the children are young, they are more likely to succeed since early investments are crucial. The Ministry of Education has embarked on several ventures to ensure no child is left behind. One such is the six-year transitional curriculum. This helps in providing all leaving the primary level the knowledge, skills and attitude needed to cope in secondary school.
For those lagging behind, teachers all over the country offer a four-hour remedial course in Mathematics and English in an effort to ensure better results at the CSEC examination.
The motivational speech was deliered by Pastor Paul Moonu who attended the school some 34 years ago.

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