Salt Spring Primary gets bursaries from past student

 Six students of the Salt Spring Primary School  in Montego Bay, St. James, were recently presented with monetary bursaries for books and uniforms, thanks to the generosity of Maurice Rushton, a past student,  who has been giving back to the school for the past three years.

 Rushton, who is the founder of the Matthew Rushton Foundation, which was named after one of his children, said his plan is to continue to provide the six bursaries, which is valued at US$100 (J$12,673.45) each, for as long as possible.

 "What is happening here is important to where you end up, because a lot of the values that I have are from here,”  said Rushton,  in a brief address before making his donation to the six recipients. “Everything you are learning here is for your own good, and you are going to go on to do bigger, better and brighter things … you are going to remember all those things you have learnt.”

         Since 2014, when the Matthew Rushton Foundation started providing the bursaries, six students from the school’s upper classes have been selected as bursary recipients. The bursaries go towards assisting them and their parents with the provision of textbooks and other educational resources.

To date, a total of 18 students has  benefited from the provision of the bursaries, including the school’s top performer in the 2016 GSAT examinations, Aaron McPherson, who will be attending Cornwall College in September.

       “I want to continue to do more for this school, to invest in the memory I have of it, and so, this is not a one-time or two-time thing; this is a lifetime commitment. I want my children to see how important it is to never forget where you are coming from,” said Rushton.

Tricia McKenzie, the principal at  Salt Spring Primary School, lauded Rushton’s contribution, saying it was  as a great booster for the students’ overall development, including academics.

“I think this presentation is a very good one, and that it will certainly do much for the school,” said McKenzie.  “As a school, our vision here is not only to see students develop academically, but holistically as well. Many of the students, who are here and who are recipients of the bursary, are students who are well-rounded and who are destined to succeed.”