( L - R ) Latoya Gagan, Daren Johnson, Lavaughnna Douglas - Photos by Carl Gilchrist

Aabuthnott Gallimore High School in Alexandria, St Ann has vowed to employ several new strategies this year in the hope of improving on last year's passes in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

Geoffrey Sharpe, school principal, said much of this year's focus would be on the core subjects of mathematics and English, which have proven most challenging for students.

300 per cent improvement

In last year's CSEC exams, just over 25 per cent of the students who sat maths got passes; for English, it was a similar 22 per cent. Sharpe, however, noted that this was a 300 per cent improvement over the previous year's results.

"Those are the areas in which we have not been shining," he told The Gleaner Tuesday. "I think we have been doing pretty well in the other areas. In social studies, integrated science and in the practical areas we have been having 70, 80 and sometimes even 90 per cent passes."

He continued: "For this year, we have increased the number of sessions in maths and English by one. We had to rob an area to give those subjects a little bit more time, because that is where we have the challenge."

Some 125 students will be sitting the two core subjects this year and the school is hoping to see a marked improvement in results.

"We have sat and analysed the results from last year and we have noticed that there were some 63 students who got range four," said the school principal.

"I am of the view that, perhaps, with a little bit more effort, some of those fours could have been converted to threes. So we are really gunning to convert that 26 per cent to 40 per cent and higher. We think we can do it," he added.

Several resource persons

Sharpe said that since last year, the school had sought to bring in several resource persons who were experienced exam markers, to come in and conduct workshops with the students.

In Easter, there will be a special workshop for mathematics and English, where the students will learn exam strategies, as well as concentrate on the weak areas.

"We also have extra classes and a homework club in the afternoons, because there are some concepts that give the students a little bit of a challenge and the afternoon activities help them to overcome these challenges," Sharpe said.

Motivation

He said he also tried to motivate and keep students focused through several talks, which he had with them regularly.

"I meet with my CSEC groups every so often, because you have to keep them focused. So you encourage them. Those who have been doing well, for example in our monthly reading exercise, you single them out and you 'big them up' and let them feel that sense of achievement," he said.

athaliah.reynolds@gleanerjm.com