ONE hundred and eleven students, including Best Graduating CSEC student Raywattie Ragasami, who received special awards in Chemistry, English A, Physics, and Principles of Business, graduated from the Berbice High School in New Amsterdam last Thursday.The event at the 99-year-old learning institution, which had among its students Sir Shirdath Ramphal and Sir Lionel Luckhoo, had the usual pomp and ceremony associated with graduation ceremonies.
The three-hour programme was quite interesting with dances from the Sandvoort Heritage Group and Aruna Jaikarran respectively, the report by Headmistress Tracey Helligar, a feature address by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams, and a motivational talk by recently retired Principal Jennifer Rollins.
The event saw the fairer gender dominating Grades One to Three in the CSEC examinations, but the males did not lag far behind as Johnny Hieronymo copped the Agriculture Science Award, Luke Ashrafally got the Technical Drawing prize, Jordan Rankin, a favourite among his peers, secured the Physical Education trophy and Lui Channerdai won the Information Technology award.
Twenty-three additional awards, inclusive of the eight Avril Davidson prizes, were also presented to students who excelled academically, were most cooperative, excelled in their deportment, along with attendance and punctuality, and in other areas of the school’s activities.
Meanwhile, Randy Arrindell was awarded the Head Mistress Prize for excelling despite being faced with overwhelming challenges.
Addressing the hundreds gathered, including regional educators, teachers and auxiliary staff at the Berbice High School Auditorium, situated a few meters from the Canje Bridge, the Attorney General highlighted the need for the students to remain in their homeland and make a meaningful contribution to the improvement of life in Guyana.
“I am pleased to announce that there are many options available to you since my government is at the reigns of this country. I am happy that you are the cream of the crop, and the talents you have exhibited will be beneficial to all Guyanese.”
Addressing the performance of the male students, Minister Williams observed that throughout the region, the women are leaving the men behind, even in the legal profession, where he worked for several decades, but was pleased to know that the males are rebounding.
While referring to a famous Latin phrase from which the school’s motto ‘carpe diem’ is taken, Williams said, “Seize the day and take action for the future.”
“Students at this point in your life, your future is dangling before you. Due to uncertainties, you can be swayed in any direction. But I implore you not to have your future hanging ….Seize it. Take it by force and make it what you want it to be.”
He noted that as children, they may feel that their fate is out of their hands, but “that notion is far from the truth,” he emphasised.
“From this day forward every decision you make will impact your future. Therefore decisions regarding your future should be taken very seriously.”
The prospects of oil, Williams added, will open up opportunities. With oil, the need for skilled professionals will be there, and there will be a growing demand for environmental, electronic and mechanical engineers, along with other field operators.
“Once oil is on stream, people will leave all other areas and gravitate towards the oil industry …In addition, the government plans to open up the interior where opportunities of trade and tourism will unfold.”
Recently retired Head Mistress Jennifer Rollins in her motivational charge to the students commended them for their exceptional performance, both regionally and nationally.
CONTINUOUS LEARNING
She said, “But as you go along life’s journey, it will become more intricate, and complex . No more teacher running to see you complete your work or submit assignments. For those who have moved on to university you will realise it’s a different situation. If you are contented with what you already know, you will not get very far in life, continuous learning will help to shape your future…”
Earlier, in the report by Headmistress Helligar, she noted that the 113 candidates had portrayed commendable performance in the CSEC examinations.
An analysis of the results revealed that of the 113 candidates who entered in the 23 subject areas, 103 students passed five or more subjects with Grades One to Three, a success rate of 91.96%, which is an increase of 15.4% in comparison with 2014.
In addition, the following subjects saw 100% passes in Grades One to Three, Electrical and Electronic Technology, Technical Drawing, Principles of Business, Office Administration, Electronic Document Preparation and Management, Information Technology, Food and Nutrition, Home Management, Physical Education and Sport, along with Human and Social Biology.
Further, significant performances were recorded in Agriculture Science, which achieved 97.25% in Grades One to Three passes, English A – 90.19%, English B – 86.43%, Integrated Science – 96.8%, Mathematics – 86.49 % , Principles of Business – 87.1%, Biology – 77.7%, Caribbean History – 70.8% , Spanish – 66.4% and Social Studies – 94.59%.
In comparison to 2014, English A achieved 76.8% passes, while English B [Literature] gained 61.6% Mathematics – 63.76%, Biology – 53.96%, Caribbean History – 33.4%, Social Studies – 86.91%, Integrated Science – 94.45%, and Spanish – 23.56%.
It was noted that improved performances were recorded for the two main subjects, namely Mathematics and English A [Language] but there was a decline in performance in Chemistry, Geography and Principles of Accounts.
Collectively the students amassed 207 Grade One passes, 362 at Grade Two, 241 at Grade Three, 97 at Grade Four, and 26 at Grade Five and one Grade Six.
Top student
Top student Raywattie Rangasami attained twelve subjects at the CSEC examinations, with ten Grade Ones and two Grade Twos.
Further, it was revealed that 91 students, including 43 males and 48 females, scored passes in five or more subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
This, Helligar said, represented an increase in the matriculation rate of 27.0% in comparison to 2014, making Berbice High School the top school in the CSEC exams in Region Six. Further the Berbice High School has moved to the seventh position in the country.
Meanwhile for the Caribbean Advance Proficiency Examination (CAPE) 26 students were entered in 17 subject areas. And 100 per cent passes were achieved in Entrepreneurship, Agriculture Science Unit 2, Communication Studies, Physical Education and Sports, along with Tourism Unit One and Two.
The best graduating CAPE student was Bibi Fazina Kaleem who gained Grade Two in Communication Studies, Grade Three in Caribbean Studies and Sociology, Grade Four in Unit 2 Environmental Science.
