Campion College celebrates outstanding CSEC, CAPE performers

The magis, or ‘the greater’, is one of the central principles of Jesuit spirituality and, by extension, of Ignatian education. This principle is the pillar on which the Roman Catholic high school Campion College hosted the CXC edition of its annual Magis Awards Ceremony to celebrate outstanding performances in the 2018 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

“Campion College uses its Magis Awards Ceremony to recognise and celebrate those members of our Campion family who, in a given academic year, epitomised the magis through their excellence in service, school citizenship, sports and academics,” said Grace Baston, principal of Campion College.

Traditionally, Campion holds one such ceremony to honour all its outstanding students, including fifth- and sixth-form students who excel at the CAPE and CSEC examinations. These students would have achieved seven or more grade-one passes for CSEC and four or more grade-one passes for CAPE in one sitting. In recent years, however, the number of students reaching this standard has grown significantly, making it impossible to include them all in the school’s regular Magis Awards Ceremony, and hence, the birth of the Magis Awards – CXC Edition.

“This year, we honoured 281 ­students for their outstanding performance in the 2018 sitting of the CAPE and CSEC examinations. Of that number, 130 are from last year’s fifth-form cohort, two from fourth form, and 149 are students who were in our upper and lower sixth-form classes,” shared Baston.

AMAZING FEELING

Each year, Campion awards the top CSEC student with the Avinash Potluri trophy and scholarship – named for a deceased alumnus and provided by his parents Dr and Mrs Devi Potluri. This year, the ­trophy was awarded to Renee Ann Meeks, who, in one sitting, earned 10 grade-one passes with straight ‘A’ profiles in each subject.

“I feel honoured to be a recipient of this trophy, an award that has been given to Campionites who I consider to be role models. It’s an amazing feeling to be acknowledged in front of the entire Campion community. This award motivates me to work even harder to make my family and school ­family proud,” offered Meeks.

Campionites also dominated the national and regional merit lists for both examinations. In the ­ranking of the top ten performers at the CSEC level, Campion College students claimed 83 places ­nationally and 32 places regionally. Of this set of scholars, special recognition should be given to Runako Gentles, who attained nine grade-one passes with straight ‘A’ profiles and placed in seven subjects on the national merit list and in four subjects on the regional merit list.

Meanwhile, with regard to CAPE, Campion had 121 students appearing on the national merit list and 47 on the regional list. The most outstanding students were Alexia Campbell, who placed four times nationally in Unit 1 and twice regionally, and Dian Palmer, who also placed four times nationally and earned one regional placement.

Campion College had more ­students on both the CSEC and CAPE regional merit lists than any other secondary school in the Caribbean. “The Campion College community celebrates the achievements of our students as we understand the hard work and dedication that goes into these accomplishments, and for that, we are proud!” shared Baston.