"I got a good foundation in Jamaica, it was excellent. It was when I went abroad that I realised," said Dr Thorell Porter-Tsomondo, professor of English at Howard University.

"I was able to excel in a culture that was not my own. (It) was due, in many ways, to the very good grounding that I got at an all-age school in Jamaica," she told the Jamaica Information Service.

Porter-Tsomondo, who is a past student of Giddy Hall All-Age in St Elizabeth, commended the performance of the students in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) during a visit to the school recently.

She urged the 27 students who will progress to secondary school in September to strive for excellence.

"Continue to do well, and the more you know is the more you will be able to advance in learning.

"Education is not about learning facts and figures, it is about learning to think. Don't just repeat what you learn, but use it to help yourselves and to help others," Porter-Tsomondo stated.

She also encouraged them to spend less time watching television and instead read more, which, she said, was a critical component of the learning culture of many Caribbean students who excel at Howard University.

Hard work

Principal of Giddy Hall All-Age, Lucille Barnaby, said the school performed creditably in GSAT, garnering placement at so-called 'traditional' high schools such as Hampton, Munro College and Bishop Gibson.

She lauded the hard work of teachers, especially grade-six tutor Adelaide Stone, who arrived at school from as early as 7 a.m. and stayed past 6 p.m. to work with the students.

"GSAT starts at grade one and my teachers began to prepare our students from day one. This success results from hard work on the part of teachers, who encouraged the students to give of their best in working at their lessons.

"We worked with the parents, whose support is critical to what we do at the school. We had Saturday classes and it has paid off," Barnaby said.