Robert Lightbourne graduate shines despite frequently missing school
Published:Friday | June 30, 2023 | 12:55 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
WHILE ATTENDING Robert Lightbourne High School in St Thomas, Homar Richardson was frequently absent.
The 17-year-old told The Gleaner that on some school days, he had to help his father at the family farm in the rural district of Moffat in the parish and would miss out on classes.
Despite feeling left behind in his lessons as a result, Richardson pushed ahead of the cohort of 113 students to be one of two valedictorians at the school’s graduation ceremony on Wednesday.
It was an achievement that Richardson shared he was very proud of, as he told his fellow batchmates that a lot of their parents, including his, did not get the opportunity to even complete high school.
The gratified youngster credits his teachers at the institution for supporting him.
“I have teachers who I can rely on, and I am sure other schools have that. But the teachers here helped me in many ways,” he said.
This, Richardson said, involved giving him extra help to catch up with the rest of the class. And their efforts paid off as he sat eight Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects in the May/June examination period. This is double the average of four subjects that Principal Andrew Simms told The Gleaner recently most grade 11 students did.
But Richardson was not just focused on academics, he also participated in the school’s mathematics club, and was a member of the football team. He said these extracurricular activities helped him to discover and hone various skills while forming friendships.
“I am a very shy person, so to be in front of so many people and answering questions helped me to develop and break away from my shyness, and football helped me to build bonds with friends from (the) higher grades and lower grades,” he said.
Richardson says he intends to matriculate to the school’s Sixth Form Pathways Programme, and aspires to become a soldier, following in the footsteps of his older brother.
In his address, Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, who was the guest speaker, encouraged the graduates to use the education they have acquired to create positive change in society.
“You are being sent out from Robert Lightbourne High School not simply to have a vocation, and not simply to make a living but to change the world, and to change it for the better,” he said.
While emphasising the importance of gaining exposure to make informed career choices, the minister urged the school leavers to further their formal education.
“We want you to have that ambition in your belly, and that fire in your stomach and we know that you’ll get it done,” he said.
“The Government is working to make that even more possible than it was in the past with financing from the Students’ Loan Bureau. And we just launched a policy in March of this year that if you are on PATH (Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education), you don’t need any guarantor to access the Students’ Loan Bureau.”
Meanwhile, Simms extolled the resilience displayed by the graduates, who he says the school has been preparing to be lifelong learners equipped 21st-century skills.
“You are ready, willing and more than capable to grasp the torch that we’ve bestowed upon you. Yours is the future on which the world will come to depend. May your years continue to be characterised by empathy, compassion and objectivity and a willingness to take risks,” the principal said.