The Ursuline Convent School St Angela’s Junior Department celebrated the achievements of its 49 students at their annual Prize Giving and Speech Day ceremony held at The Ursuline Convent School Hall on Tuesday.
The principal of St Angela’s Junior Department Kim Somerville noted that the majority of students who took this year’s Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination (BSSEE) obtained placements at their school of choice with a vast percentage of students obtaining placements at the older grammar schools across the island.
“Once again, this year, St Angela’s results have been very good. Many of our students have done exceptionally well. Forty-nine students sat the exam; 21 of these received marks which enabled them to attend their first choice school with nine moving onto Harrison College, six to Queen’s College, four to The St Michael’s School, three to Combermere, four to Christ Church Foundation, two to The Lodge School, one to The Alexandra School, one to Deighton Griffith, two to Ellerslie School, one to St Leonards’ Boys and one to the Alleyne School. Fifteen students requested and will receive bursaries,” she said.
Somerville told the parents and guardians gathered the students continue to perform above the national average in the BSSEE. “St Angela’s overall average for English was 80.70 per cent compared to the national average of 65.75. Our Mathematics results showed an average of 79.7 per cent compared to the national average of 61.58 per cent. Cain Banfield and James Dixon attained perfect scores of 100 per cent on the math paper. Collectively, 20 students scored between 90 and 99 per cent and eight scored between 80 and 89 per cent, making the total of 30 out of the 49 students scoring 80 per cent or above. Four students did not achieve a passing mark.
In the English paper, 13 students scored between 90 and 99 per cent and 17 scored between 80 and 89 per cent, again, making a total of 30 of the 49 students scoring 80 per cent or above. Only one student did not receive a passing grade in English, scoring 48 per cent,” she said.
Somerville noted this year the performance of graduands in Composition was lower when compared to last year’s.
“Across the board, composition results were lower this year with only eight students gaining A’s, 16 B’s, 14 C’s and an unheard of 8 D’s. This is something we will have to seriously address in the coming year,” she stressed.
Somerville advised the graduands that it did not matter what secondary school they went to as long as they work hard to achieve their goals.
“We are proud of the achievements of all of our students. Many have worked exceedingly well over their eight years at St Angela’s and not all of them have received a place at the more sought-after older Government secondary schools. As I have told the students and reminded them again today, it does not matter which secondary school you attend, what matters is what you do once there,” she said.
The graduands entertained the audience with performances in song, dance and theatre to the delight of their parents and guardians.
(LG)
