Students urged to rise above 11-plus stereotypes

With the common entrance examination just three weeks away, students preparing for the highly anticipated test have been urged to look beyond long-standing stereotypes attached to secondary schools and instead focus on their own effort, mindset and ambition.

Dr Shantelle Armstrong, an academic and entrepreneur, has touted her own journey as a challenge to the perception that success is tied to attending one of the island’s older high schools. 

Dr Shantelle Armstrong (Provided photos)

“I wanted to… encourage them,” she told Barbados TODAY, reflecting on students sitting the exam this year. “You can achieve or try to achieve or seek to go to whatever school you choose… don’t let that define you… always do your best.”

School placement after the 11-plus exam often shapes how students are perceived, a mindset educators say continues to affect children and parents alike.

Dr Armstrong, who completed her PhD in management with a specialisation in corporate governance last July through a CIBC scholarship, now runs Strategic Governance Advisory Limited and is a director of KASA Maintenance Services Inc., her husband Kevin Armstrong’s company. 

Control over any form of success ultimately lies with the individual, not the institution, she said. 

“We all end up… at the same university, so all control is within… no other person’s hands. It’s really you that has control over your destiny,” she said. “You define yourself… the school doesn’t define you.”

She pointed to her own academic track record, a first-class bachelor’s degree, a master’s with distinction, and published research, as proof that outcomes are not dictated by school labels. “It really is not where you go, it’s what you do out there,” she added.

Dr Armstrong also acknowledged that negative perceptions still exist and can affect students’ confidence. “People still make them feel uncomfortable and make them feel as if a school defines you,” she said. “But you… have the control over you.”

Her call is not only for academic focus but also for resilience, noting that even students placed in highly regarded schools must still apply themselves. “Even if you pass… You still have to do work.”

Former principal Marcia Best echoed those sentiments, describing the hierarchy placed on schools as “a faulty mindset” that has been passed down through generations.

“Education has its value, and I don’t think the geographical location, the size, nor the actual building of the school has anything to do with the delivery of education,” she said.

Drawing on her 12 years leading Eagle Hall Primary and Luther Thorne Memorial Primary, Best stressed that all students are given the tools to succeed, regardless of where they are placed.

“Our boys and girls… are nurtured… to be productive citizens of our country. So we see ourselves as mission builders,” she explained.

She also warned that the perception of “prominent” versus “ordinary” schools can influence how children see themselves and others. “Everyone is equal… but unfortunately this mindset has been fed to parents and the children themselves become a part of a faulty perception.”

Addressing students who may feel discouraged by their school placement, she urged them to focus on personal responsibility. “The success that you will realise is dependent on what you do on a day-to-day basis,” she said, noting that some students in highly regarded schools underperform while others in less celebrated institutions excel.

“There are children who will go to what we consider prominent schools and will come out equally qualified with those who would have attended the so-called less prominent schools,” she added.

As Barbados continues discussions around education reform, including the possible future removal of the exam, Best believes broader societal change is needed.

“It’s going to be an uphill task… this whole idea has been passed from generation to generation,” she said, suggesting that greater public education and dialogue are necessary to shift perceptions.

For now, both Armstrong and Best are urging students across the island to approach the upcoming examination with confidence and clarity.

(LE)