Premier and Minister of Education Hon. Joseph Parry.

During a press briefing on Friday August 24, 2007, at his Bath Plain office, Mr Parry announced that Ms. Sashia Godet of the Charlestown Secondary School (CSS) topped the CSEC examinations with 11 distinctions in 12 subjects; Ms. Michelle Slack copped 8 distinctions out of 11 subjects and Ms Adrian Jagdeo got five distinctions out of 10 subjects. Ms. Jerri-Lee Bussue of the Gingerland Secondary School (GSS) captured 100 percent distinctions in the 10 subjects and Ms. Jacintha Lawrence got eight distinctions out of 10 subjects.

He said the outstanding student for Unit I CAPE, was Ms. Adriel Browne who got 7 ones with all “A” profiles and Ms. Monique Liburd was the outstanding student in Unit II. She received four subjects with “A” profiles out of six subjects.

“I am pleased to tell you that the results are very good this year and my special joy has to do with the fact that you have more students than ever before doing those exams and the passes have been the best in terms of numbers over the past years,” he said.

Mr. Parry congratulated the students and also the teachers and parents for their efforts, support and interest and pledged the Administration’s continued support for students.

“I do appreciate the hard work everyone has done this year. The Nevis Reformation Party in the Peoples Agenda has said that we must put people first. We have education and training as our highest priority and we want to tell all these students that we are here and ready to help them to get training and further education wherever it is available…

“I am pleased and I hope these students and these two schools will be an example to the community so that our young people will continue to aspire towards a better and higher education. Your government the Nevis Reformation Party government certainly is pleased and this will encourage us even as we have been sending abroad over 70 students to pursue higher education and even as we seek to train every Nevisian on the island in the field of their choice,” he said.~~Adz:Right~~

A total of 95 students from the CSS wrote CSEC examinations. There were 514 subject entries at General Proficiency Level and 95 at the Technical Proficiency Level. At the GSS a total of 102 students wrote the CSEC examinations. There were 391 subject entries at the General Proficiency Level; 51 at the Technical Proficiency Level and four at the Basic Proficiency Level.

“Over the past years from 2002-2006, we (CSS) had the following percentage rates. In 2002 46 students took the exam and you had a 90 percent pass. In 2003, 65 students took the exam and you had an 81 percent pass. In 2004, you had 71 students taking the exam with a 78 percent pass. In 2005, 51 students took the exam with an 86 percent pass. Last year 2006, 63 students took the exam with 78 percent pass. So when you look at the percentage it is not the highest but in terms of the numbers we have the highest,” he said.

In 2002, 317 subjects were written with a pass of 286 subjects. In 2003 381 subjects were taken with a pass of 308 in 2004, 403 subjects were taken with a pass of 313. In 2005, 348 subjects were taken with a pass of 301. In 2006, 427 subjects were taken with a pass of 333.

“I must emphasise that 142 more subjects were passed this year in comparison to last year.  One student passed 12 subjects; one student passed 11 subjects; four students passed 10 subjects; eight students passed nine subjects; 11 students passed eight subjects; 11 students passed seven subjects; 10 students passed six subjects and eight students passed five subjects,” he said.

~~Adz:Left~~At the GSS, in 2002, 65 students wrote the exam. There were 217 subjects taken with a pass of 181 and an 81 percent pass rate. In 20034, 60 students sat the exam in 340 subject areas. The pass rate was 261 with a 77 percentage pass. In 2004, 68 students did the exam in 312 subject areas. Two hundred and thirty four students passed with a percentage rate of 75 percent. In 2005, 83 students took the exam. There were 354 subjects and 259 passed with a 71 percent pass rate. In 2006, 78 students took the exams in 358 subject areas. Two hundred and 16 subjects were passed at 60 percent.

In the 2007 examinations, two students passed 10 subjects; three students passed nine subjects; five students passed eight subjects; two students passed seven subjects; 11 students passed six subjects and 13 students passed five subjects.

For the CAPE examinations, 90 students wrote the examinations with a total of 367 subject entries. In Unit I which involved the first year students, there were 266 subject entries with 228 subject passes. The percentage pass was 86 percent. In Unit II which involved the second year students, there were 103 subject entries with 94 subject passes. The percentage pass was 91 percent.

“We are more interested in the number of persons who are exposed and in the number of subjects passed and what is striking and significant, that while in 2006 you had 195 subject entries, in 2007 you had 276 entries. While you had a total pass level of 179 subjects last year this year we had 228. That must be the highest ever in the history of the Sixth Form and I am very pleased for this.

“This is what we have been saying in Opposition, we need to have more persons doing exams and more persons passing the exams. Even if there is a drop in the percentage rate, more of our people are being exposed,” he said.