Vaz Prep students flock Wolmers Boys and Girls
Published:Wednesday | June 15, 2016 | 12:00 AMJodi-Ann Gilpin
Fifteen students from the Vaz Preparatory School in Kingston will be moving on to the Wolmer's Boys' and Wolmer's Girls' schools, following the release of Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) results yesterday.
Karlene Bisnott, principal of the school, indicated that since last academic year, there has been an increase in the number of students who are choosing the downtown Kingston-based high schools over Campion College, a popular preference for students in the Corporate Area.
"What we have found in more recent years is that more of our students are choosing Wolmer's Boys and Girls as their first choice. This year, we have 15 students moving on to Wolmer's, including our top girl, six for Campion College, six for Immaculate Conception High School, and a spread across the board," she told The Gleaner.
"I believe one of the reasons is due to the fact that at Vaz, we have a good sports programme, and once they get involved in sports, they want to continue. Both Wolmer's Boys and Girls have excellent sports programmes, and so students prefer to go there," she said.
Outstanding past students
The principal added: "We also have outstanding past students such as Jaheel Hyde (track and field athlete), who they look up to. So that, too, influences their decision."
The principal noted that while there was a slight decline in the school's average in comparison to last year, she was still pleased with the overall performance.
"I think we had a mix this year as it relates to the cohort who sat the exam, and the results reflected that. When we worked it out last night (Tuesday), we had a cohort of 75 students, and 31 of them scored in the 90s, so it is still encouraging. I am still pleased and hoping that we will be able to pick up a few scholarships," Bisnott told The Gleaner.
"We fell down in the communication task this year. I don't know if they didn't look at what the question asked, but we had too many single digits for that subject in comparison to last year. This year, we had some concerns during the year as to how focused they were, how settled they were, and their thinking ability. Overall, our scores are above the national average."