"I want to commend The Gleaner for their support to education, as anything we can do to improve the education of our students is a great asset," Reid told The Gleaner.

He said he had observed some improvement in academics, especially in English language, which showed a pass rate increase of 20 per cent.

Reid said the school's participation in The Gleaner's Newspaper in Education (NIE) workshop helped in the crafting of a student-centred approach to learning.

Youthlink

Jamaica College students are reportedly reading The Gleaner more often, particularly Youthlink magazine, which independent canvasses have shown to be head-and-shoulders above its print rivals in the youth market.

Nicoleta Solomon, librarian at the institution, said information gleaned from newspapers provided different perspectives on current and historical issues that might be outside the domain of traditional textbooks.

"The boys use The Gleaner more often as it takes them directly to the subjects instead of having to read the long topics in the textbooks," Solomon said.

"The topics are very wide and in-depth, and at the same time made simple for the students to comprehend the subjects easily," she added.

The librarian said she usually compiled files on various subjects so those who could not afford to purchase newspapers would have access nonetheless. She said The Gleaner was useful mainly in English language, information technology and history studies.

Intellectual enquiry

Racquel Douglas, English language teacher at the institution, and a past participant in The Gleaner's Newspaper in Education workshop, said that while photocopying and access problems affected newspaper reach, content stimulated intellectual enquiry.

Douglas said letters to the editor, in particular, were critiqued by students, who sought to hone their skills in analysing argumentative discourse, advertisements, figures of speech and other mechanics of English.

Jamaica College, sited on Old Hope Road, was founded in 1795. The high school currently has a student population exceeding 1,600 and academic, administrative and auxiliary staff numbering above 100.

sonia.mitchell@gleanerjm.com

"The boys use The Gleaner more often as it takes them directly to the subjects, instead of having to read the long topics in the textbooks," Solomon said.