CAMPBELL
Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
FOR MOST of its 44-year history, administrators at Vere Technical High School have fought the stigma of it being a 'sports school'.
Like Wolmer's Boys, Kingston College, Ruseas and St. Elizabeth Technical High School, other institutions with outstanding achievements in sports, the Clarendon school's record on the field often takes a backseat to academics. That is where some members of the public are concerned.
"We have had to fight to tell people that Vere is not just a sports school, we try and help the students achieve their potential in various fields," said Lileith Bryan, Vere's outgoing principal.
Over the years, some outstanding persons have donned Vere's green colours including footballers Alan 'Skill' Cole and Herbert 'Dago' Gordon and the sensational sprinter Aleen Bailey.
Located in the heart of Clarendon's sugar region, Vere has won Girls Championships on numerous occasions, their last victory coming in 2002. At the height of their dominance they had a run of 15 consecutive wins.
They have also done well in the DaCosta Cup football competition which they last won in 1983.
Ms. Bryan told The Sunday Gleaner last week that administrators at Vere are adamant that students who excel in sports at least try to have a sound record in the classroom. There are extra lessons for these students before the start of their respective seasons and depending on their training schedule, after the season begins.
"It has worked very well. Not one athlete that has left Vere goes without a subject," she boasted.
Ms. Bryan says Veronica Campbell, the 200 metres champion at the Athens Olympics in Greece, is one of the beneficiaries of these extra classes.
Campbell left Vere with six CXC passes including Principles of Business, Principles of Accounts and English Language. Track athletes Verena Patterson, Devene Findlay and Jobert Stewart also did well academically, so too Jowayne Robinson, a member of the Headley Cup cricket team.
There are at present 1,234 students attending Vere Technical. Since 2000 when it was designated a Senior Technical school, it has classes from Grades 9-12.
Ms. Bryan did not reveal how well the school performed in the 2004 CXC exams, but said some of its strongest results came in subjects where students usually do well, such as Home Economics, Building Technology and Electrical Technology.
