CAPE success, CSEC gains highlight local CXC results

Barbados recorded a 93.8 per cent overall pass rate in the 2026 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), while improvements were also recorded in several areas at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level.

Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw revealed that 5 196 candidates registered for CAPE in 2026, up from 4 999 in 2025. Of these, 5 022 completed the examinations, with 4 710 passing results recorded.

“The achievements of our scholarship and exhibition recipients become even more significant when viewed against the wider performance of Barbados in the 2026 CAPE examinations,” Archer-Bradshaw said.

The national pass rate for CAPE Unit 1 was 93.1 per cent, while Unit 2 recorded a 95.1 per cent pass rate. Female students had a 94.3 per cent pass rate, compared with 93.2 per cent for males.

Archer-Bradshaw reported that 17 subjects in Unit 1 achieved a 100 per cent pass rate, including French, History, Literatures in English, Information Technology, Green Engineering, Animation and Gaming Design, and Building and Mechanical Engineering Drawing.

In Unit 2, subjects including Art and Design, Food and Nutrition, Geography, Sociology and Spanish also achieved perfect pass rates.

Another 23 subjects across both units recorded pass rates between 90 per cent and 99 per cent.

For CSEC, 22 967 candidates registered from 42 examination centres, including 21 public secondary schools and 20 private institutions. Of these, 21 047 completed the examinations.

The national pass rate for Grades I to III was 69.9 per cent, just below the regional average of 72.18 per cent. Male students recorded a 70.9 per cent pass rate, slightly higher than the 69.2 per cent recorded by females.

In the core subjects, Barbados performed above the regional averages. The national CSEC Mathematics pass rate rose to 47 per cent, compared with the regional rate of 42.15 per cent.

“There has been a steady increase in the pass rate in mathematics in Barbados over the past three years, and we are above the Caribbean pass rate,” Archer-Bradshaw said.

English A recorded an 82 per cent pass rate, exceeding the regional average of 80 per cent, while English B reached 60 per cent, an increase of 1.2 percentage points over the previous year.

Archer-Bradshaw also highlighted improvements in Mathematics and English at several public secondary schools.

“I want to use this opportunity to congratulate those schools that have seen improvement in their pass rates from 2025 to 2026 in mathematics and English,” she said.

St George Secondary School recorded a 61.8 percentage point increase in its Mathematics pass rate compared with 2025. Gains were also reported at Coleridge and Parry School, up 23.6 percentage points; Parkinson Memorial Secondary School, up 22.8; The Alexandra School, up 13.1; and Christ Church Foundation School, up 10.7.

In English, Darryl Jordan Secondary School recorded a 48.7 percentage point increase.

“There was one very outstanding school when it came to the increasing pass rate, and that school is the Darryl Jordan Secondary School,” Archer-Bradshaw said.

The Chief Education Officer also detailed results from the inaugural pilot of the Caribbean Targeted Examination Certificate, using the CSEC Modular Approach.

“For the first time in 2026, the Caribbean Examinations Council offered a modular approach to attaining certification, and this commenced with the offering of Module One for CSEC mathematics,” she explained.

In the pilot, 589 students from six secondary schools registered, with 493 completing the assessment. A total of 358 candidates passed, translating to an overall pass rate of 72.6 per cent. Female students recorded a 76.6 per cent pass rate, compared with 68 per cent for males.

“We definitely look forward to improved outcomes for the next academic year,” Archer-Bradshaw said.