THE Christianburg/ Wismar Secondary School (CWSS) in Linden has recorded a whopping 92 per cent pass rate at its first sitting of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE). Etching his name in the school’s history as the first CAPE top student is Rovin Blair, who secured a Grade One in Environmental Science, A Grade Two in Communication Studies and a Grade Three in Information Technology.

Knowing the hard work he had to put in, Blair said he was very happy with his results. “I’m happy, it was hard work to get there, lots of hard work, a tedious journey. CAPE wasn’t easy, it took a lot of determination to get there,” he said.

The former Mackenzie High School student said he decided to skip over to CWSS as its focus was more on technical and vocational subjects, which he desired to pursue. He aspires to become a computer or an electronic engineer.

His success would not have been possible without the role the CWSS teachers played in ensuring the first batch of students was as successful as those at any other school.
“They did a very excellent job, always ensured we understood the work and made sure we were ok and that we came out successful.”

Going the extra mile was the class teacher, Lioni Peters, who gave up the comfort of a staff room and moved permanently into the Sixth Form classroom to give the students round the clock guidance. Blair will be attending CWSS Upper Six, in the upcoming school year.

Blair was among the first batch of 11 students who registered for CAPE at CWSS. The students wrote five subjects: electricity and electronics, integrated mathematics, environmental science, Caribbean Studies and Communication Studies.

CWSS Principal Cleveland Thomas was elated that the goal of ensuring the students succeed so that they can sit the Unit 11 of the subjects, was realised. Thomas related how the students suffered during the beginning of the academic year because of rumours that the school had asbestos and other issues. They were uprooted from their classrooms and had to be temporarily housed in a not so conducive environment while the school hours were from 12:15 hours to 17:00 hours.

MIRACLE
“It’s a modern day miracle to achieve 92 per cent passes at CAPE. However, these results came through dedication and commitment to the cause; a belief that failure is not an option. Success is the only option. CWSS pulled success out of the jaws of failure, defeat and conspiracy,” Thomas said. He also gave high commendation to the teachers who, despite being newbies to CAPE, stuck through the challenges and made it out successfully.
“I know for sure the teachers would have done their best, they really caught on to the programme, they worked beyond the call of duty,” he said.

What contributed to the success as well, the principal said, was that the CAPE programme was well thought out, planned and coordinated.

“We planned for this, teachers would have gone off to the University of Guyana to study, so now they are trained graduate teachers because we knew we would have gone into CAPE, we had our staff prepared, so when the programme came on board, we were ready.”
While about half of the students came from Christianburg/Wismar Secondary School’s Fifth Form, the other half were from secondary schools across Linden.
Thomas said the school took a more technical approach in ensuring the students were equipped with the skills needed for the oil and gas industry.

CWSS, built under former President, Linden Forbes Burnham, was once known as one of the lowest-rated schools in Linden. The school recorded a poor performance during the 1990s and early 2000s. Coming to its saving grace, however, in 2004, was Principal Thomas who put all his energies into its massive transformation. Today, CWSS is competing against Mackenzie High, for the region’s top-ranking secondary school title.

Over the past five years, the school recorded consistent improvement in student matriculation. In 2013, only 29 per cent of the CSEC candidates matriculated while in 2017, 48 per cent did. Thirty-one per cent (72) of the students, who matriculated at the CWSS over the past three years, were from the Industrial Technology Department (ITD).

In 2015 and 2016, 83 per cent of the candidates passed and in 2017, all the candidates (100 per cent) passed. In 2015, for the first time, after decades, CWSS won seven of the top 10 places in Region 10 for Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and this performance was repeated in 2017.
This year, the school garnered a 70 per cent pass rate in Grade One to Three at CSEC.