Book charts history of William Knibb Memorial High

William Knibb Memorial High School in Martha Brae, Trelawny, alma mater of sprinting superstar Usain Bolt, was recently the venue for the launch of a book on the school's history, William Knibb Memorial High School: The First Fifty Years 1961-2011.

With this publication, William Knibb becomes the 'youngest' school in Jamaica to have its history published.

The book has been compiled by veteran Gleaner journalist and columnist Ewart Walters and there are plans to use it in the school's grade 8 and 9 curricula.

The project to record and publish the school's history is the brainchild of its first principal, Neville Manderson, who flew in from California for the occasion.

In a brief address, Manderson said that he was moved to commission the book as he wanted the history of the institution to be told while he and the succeeding principals were still alive.

He was joined by four of the five other past principals.

They are Anthony Falloon, Margaret Lee, Diana Wynter and Dr Mark Nicely, as well as the school's current principal, Alicia Morgan Bloomfield, who is the first alumnus to have been appointed its principal.

Manderson told The Gleaner that he hoped the William Knibb school history project would be emulated by other schools in Jamaica, thus adding to the record of educational development in the country.

Manderson, who financed the project, donated 400 copies of the book and turned over copyright to the school for the future printing of additional copies.

Alumnus Angella Whitter, managing director of Whitter Village in Ironshore, St James, made donation of books on the occasion, and a surprise donation of J$500,000 to the school's track and field programme. Donations of class sets of the book have also been made by the Usain Bolt Foundation and the NCB Foundation.