By Petrina Francis, Education ReporterWITH SEVEN of the top 10 high schools based on CXC results said to be all girls' schools, there is now a renewed debate as to whether female students are indeed outperforming their male counterparts.
The study, which ranked the schools based on performance, was done by Dr. Dennis Minott and as part of the Prime Minister's Task Force on Education. The seven, based on Dr. Minott's analysis are Immaculate; Wolmer's Girls; Westwood; Hampton High; Bishop Gibson; Mt. Alvernia High and St. Andrew High.
But while most of the principals do not believe that being an all girls' school is the single biggest reason for their success, they all agreed that quality teachers, hard-working students and parental support were necessary ingredients to attain academic excellence.
Velma Esson, acting principal of Bishop Gibson High School, noted that the school is successful "partly because of good management and healthy team spirit. We speak of ourselves as the Bishop Gibson High School family," she said.
"In addition, the school has a "strong PTA support and the board of management is unmatched. We have a cadre of students who are eager to learn." She added: "Bishop Gibson (founder of the school) had a vision for the school and we are cognisant of that fact."
Vice-principal of Hampton High, Joan Linton, however, sees an advantage in being an all girls' school less distraction.
"Parents are interested in their children... the ones who are most successful are the ones with parental support," she said. She cites school attendance as another important factor. "The school prides itself in discipline and students and parents co-operate." Mrs. Linton said. "The attitude of children is very important and we have students who are interested in learning."
Another important point that she highlighted was that the school does not do extra classes. "We believe that when they do (take extra classes) they neglect class time." She further added that because there are no extra lessons, students have to concentrate in class.
For Sharon Reid, principal of St. Andrew High School, "A tradition of excellence" has been the secret to her school's success.
"The success of any institution is multi-faceted and we get cohorts of students that are capable so we work with them," she said.
Unlike some other institutions that get weak students, Mrs. Reid said, "We get literate children who we can get to work."
EXAMS ARE NOT EVERYTHING
Ms. Reid, however, cautioned against measuring schools based solely on examination results. "At any level of education, I am very concerned at the attempt to measure school on exams," she said. "If we are only using exams as measurement we are running into serious trouble."
Two of the other all girls' schools Immaculate High and Mt. Alvernia High, which were ranked in the top 10 are run by the same community of sisters: Franciscan Sisters of Allegany.
Principal Sister Angella Harris of Mt. Alvernia believes that the standards of the school are clear and teachers, parents and students strive towards these standards. She believes that team effort and teachers' vision for excellence was a determining drive to the school's achievements.
The school has 25 to 30 clubs and Sister Harris thinks that the discipline that the girls receive in the extra-curricular activities further increases their attitude to work. The Vest Club, which is an indigenous club, is equivalent to a cadet club. Girls who are members of this club have to perform above a certain percentage and punctuality is also important.
Munro College has been around for approximately 150 years and is the only all boys' school that has been ranked in the top 10 traditional schools. James Rowe, acting principal, told The Gleaner, "The students are exemplary in all aspects, they are prepared to do their best." In addition to assiduous students, he said that teachers work hard to ensure that students do their best. Munro was given a 'B' rating and Mr. Rowe believes that there is room for improvement. Within recent times the school has had a high staff turnover rate and the school has lost "reputable teachers". In an attempt to improve, he thinks that the school needs to replace the quality teachers.
The boys worship a lot and are involved in several different extra-curricular activities "to keep their interest and make sure that they are focused."
