FIRST Lady Mrs Sandra Granger has praised Bishops’ High School students on their success, noting that the school has a proud tradition of excellence which must be emulated across the country.

“Guyana cannot afford to have its students drop out of school at the alarming rate of 4,000 every year,” she said.The First Lady made these remarks in her address to students, parents and teachers at the School’s Annual Prize-giving Ceremony. Bishops’ High hosts the ceremony every year to honour students for their outstanding performances, both in academics and extra-curricular activities.

“You have succeeded because you’ve all put your noses to the proverbial grindstone, and as a result of your efforts and your parents’ and teachers’ guidance and support, you can celebrate your achievements today…. You have confronted challenges and achieved a measure of success, and you are being afforded the opportunity of pursuing higher learning in a country where I am sure you have heard of the alarming rate of school dropouts,” Mrs Granger said.

According to a Ministry of the Presidency release, the First Lady noted that many children go to school hungry, while others simply cannot attend school because they do not have uniforms or school supplies or transportation. Some are forced to stay at home to take care of their younger siblings while their parents earn a living.

The First Lady added that her husband’s government recognises these challenges, and has launched a programme to alleviate some of these difficulties.
“It is my hope that recent initiatives to provide buses, bikes and boats to enable children to get to and from school, [for which the] scope is now being expanded to include breakfast and books, will lead to the decline in the number of children dropping out of school each day, until every single child in our country benefits from his or her right to free education,” Mrs Granger said.

HARD WORK
Turning her attention to the school, she said that Bishops’ High School has a proud tradition of academic excellence, primarily because teachers and students alike have held firmly to the tenet that the fruit of hard work is success.

“The school has been blessed with head teachers of vision and teachers who recognise the importance of discipline, and that is evident in their performance,” the First Lady said.

The First Lady noted that the Government of Guyana is working to strengthen the education system by developing and enhancing the facilities for learning in every region, increasing the number of trained teachers, and helping students to become comfortable with innovations in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Health Dr Karen Cummings, a proud alumna of the school, urged the students to be responsible citizens of their country; to uphold the values of discipline, honesty and honour at all times; and to give of their very best in whatever field they choose to venture into.

“Each one of us must use education to feed the fires of ambition…. The sky is your limit in all that you do, aim for high standards. Become a standard bearer so that others would want to emulate your actions,” Dr Cummings urged.

In 2015, the Bishops’ High School recorded 100 per cent passes in 16 of the 27 subjects written at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, with an overall matriculation rate of 97.4 per cent. At the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE), 17 subjects were written, and the school achieved an overall pass rate of 95 per cent.

Bishops’ High School was established in 1870 by the Anglican Diocese in Brickdam as an all-girls learning institution. The school settled in its current location at Carmichael and Quamina Streets, Georgetown, in 1921.
It was handed over to the Government of the then British Guiana 80 years ago, in January 1936, and became a co-educational institution in 1975.