Six win scholarships, 36 get exhibitions

The Ministry of Education on Friday announced six scholarship winners, 36 exhibition winners and a sole recipient of an Award of Excellence this year.

Two of the scholars are from Harrison College (HC), while the remaining four are from Queens College (QC); while 25 of the exhibition winners are from HC, four from QC, one from Christ Church Foundation Secondary School, one from The Lodge School and five from the Barbados Community College (BCC).

Graduate of the Office Administration programme at the BCC, Kelly-Ann Skeete was the only Award of Excellence winner.

The scholarship winners are: Nathan Chee-A-Tow and Vinati Melawani from Harrison College, and Megan Best, Meladee Carter, Ella-Jean Evelyn and Khaleel Kothdiawala from Queen’s College.

The 25 exhibition winners from Harrison College are: Safiyyah Adams, Amber Austin, Jaleah Barker, Dana Begg, Dominique Bryan, Laila Chin-Clarke, Soumaya Callender, Vienna Cozier, Alexander Dent, Joshua Desir, Thelema Grannum, Raanan Hackett, Jade Jackman, Pritika Kandamaran, Keturah Kellman, Kaia Moseley, Leonard O’Garro, Madihah Patel, Saydiah Russell, Kyle Seales, Teshara Walton, Aisha Waterman, Josh Dayo Weekes, Kyle Yearwood, and Sasha Zephrin.

The four exhibition winners from Queen’s College are: Mikkel Boxill, Jana Scott, Lianna Williams, Justin Yearwood.

Gaziyah Bentham from Christ Church Foundation and Maya Graham from The Lodge School were also the recipients of exhibitions.

“I wish to remind all of you of the great financial investments that this republic is making to your development,” Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw told the award winners. “I encourage you to use this investment wisely as you continue to strive for academic excellence and bring credit to your nation in your chosen fields.”

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Betty Alleyne-Headley said this year’s winners were announced late this year because Barbados had requested that the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) review the grades of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency (CAPE) level, following the release of CXC results in October 2021.

She said CXC only completed the review this month, further delaying the usual process of streamlining and policy approval at the level of the Ministry and Government.

Alleyne-Headley, who commended the winners for their achievements despite social and economic hardship, urged them to offer themselves to be a part of Barbados’ education reform drive.

Archer-Bradshaw acknowledged that the review of the results took longer than anticipated and was a source of anxiety for many, but said the Ministry wanted to give CXC the opportunity to make things right.

She said it was hoped that parents, students and educators could now put that behind them and celebrate the achievements and acknowledge the hard work, dedication and resilience demonstrated by the students and the support they received from stakeholders.

“Though not receiving awards, many students have worked hard under very trying circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. I, therefore, encourage all students to continue to strive for excellence undaunting by these trying times,” Archer-Bradshaw said.

She said those students disappointed in not obtaining the required grades to be awarded a scholarship or exhibition can be assured that the Ministry is committed to justice and fairness for all students, and will continue to collaborate with CXC and stakeholders for the benefit of Barbadian children.

The education chief also indicated that the Ministry had implemented a learning development and examination success preparation team to support students who deferred the writing of CXC examinations in 2021, and aims to complement the work being done within public secondary schools to mitigate learning loss resulting from the pandemic.

She said the Ministry also held the first of a series of sessions organised by the team, on December 15, which focused on study skills and habits that contribute to examination success.

Archer-Bradshaw indicated that at the session, people identified a need for assistance with resources and also mental health support.

“Consequently, the recently established mental health committee will be working in tandem with the learning development and examination success preparation team to cater to the full range of students’ needs as they navigate these challenging times,” she said.

She added that the Ministry has also set up a help desk for students to communicate their challenges.

In 2020, HC took the bulk of the awards with 11 scholarship winners and 12 exhibition winners, while a Christ Church Foundation student won an exhibition and two BCC students were also exhibition recipients, along with three students from QC.
anestahenry@barbadostoday@bb