Trudy Simpson, Staff Reporter
One of the female students who is among the first batch to be admitted to St. George's College, at yesterday's briefing session for sixth formers at the school's North Street campus. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD NASSTASCIA Lennon did not sleep well on Sunday night. Bubbling with anticipation, the former student of Alpha Academy, a girls school, said she twisted and turned and woke up intermittently during the night as she thought of what awaited her yesterday. As one of 42 young women, she made history by becoming a sixth form student at St. George's College, a school which spent over 150 years as an all-male school.
"I had to get up and play games on my cellphone. I was twisting and turning and looking at the time. ... I was thinking about what to expect, my teachers and my subjects (and) I wanted to wear the uniform," Nasstascia told The Gleaner a little after starting her first day at school. With a laugh she added, "My mother was happy because I cleaned my room just to pass time. It will be a good experience. I want to do well at CAPE."
A LITTLE FAMOUS
Several girls told The Gleaner that they did become a little famous and received many positive comments from members of the public as they made their way to school.
In addition, as The Gleaner toured the sixth form block yesterday, male and female students seemed to be adjusting to the new co-educational environment, although those interviewed by The Gleaner revealed that some boys, especially from the lower school, stared at them. In one class The Gleaner observed that sixth form boys were more than happy to have girls in class and to be paired with the young girls for lessons.
Some students said the co-education environment may lead to increased dedication to school work. "Boys don't want to look dumb in front of girls so a lot of school work will be done and that's very good. In addition, interaction between boys and girls will create a different atmosphere," said Marlon Mills, St. George's College's deputy head boy.
Principal of the school, Dr. Fred Kennedy, said last week that the move to include girls followed an expansion of the school's sixth form. He said the expansion resulted from a number of factors. Among them are St. George's excellent passes in recent external exams, which meant more boys were eligible for sixth form and a plan by the school to take advantage of a proposal from the Ministry of Education that suggests that sixth forms can begin offering associate degrees so students can get credits for tertiary educational institutions.
"We needed to expand so we could offer the full range of subjects," Dr. Kennedy said.
The now co-educational sixth form, which now has about 156 students or double its original number of students, will teach boys and girls how to properly interact as they prepare for tertiary institutions, said Marsha Anderson, dean of the school's sixth form. She said the school has arranged activities for students to socialise and is now looking at adjusting facilities and extra curricular activities to accommodate both genders.
