Comprehensive School marks record score

Graduating pupils at Saba Comprehensive School (SCS) have recorded an outstanding performance in their Caribbean Examination Council CXC and Cambridge International Examinations. The school recorded an 89 per cent pass rate among fifth-form pupils in the academic stream of the school, with 8 of 9 pupils who sat the exams completing them with grades 1-3, according to a press release issued by Saba Government Information Service (SGIS) Tuesday. The 89 per cent pass rate surpasses that of last year, which stood at 85 per cent. In an effort to raise the level and quality of the school, SCS took the initiative to accept only grades 1 to 3 as passes for every subject.

This year’s valedictorian is Colton Johnson, who passed an impressive 11 subjects, of which he scored a grade-1 in seven subjects and earned distinction in four other subjects. Salutatorian Aimee Thielman also did well in her 10 subject areas. Special mentions were made of students Myron Hassell, Esther Henry and Caroline Hassell, who also passed all of their subjects. Students scored a 100 per cent pass rate in eight subjects. “The pupils and the community should be proud of the accomplishment because a lot of schools in the region would like to have this result,” Vice-Director Constance Clement said. Spanish teacher Tracy Johnson-Zagers was especially proud of her students and highlighted the fact that all ten of her pupils passed. It was also the first time that two non-native speakers were able to attain a Grade-1. Johnson-Zagers said she had taken an innovative approach last year where pupils had to engage in conversation with a native speaker on the island for at least half an hour every week. She believed this was essential for the improved performance of pupils.

New SCS Director Hemmie van Xanten said the impressive results could be attributed to motivated teachers who went the extra mile. “It is because of the good teachers who have given their utmost that we were able to come up with these results,” he told SGIS. Van Xanted said the school would focus on the improvement of mathematics classes, which only scored a passing rate of 40 per cent. A regional expert will be visiting to develop a programme to improve the mathematics performance at both schools on Saba. He indicated that this year’s goal will be to reach and even exceed the current passing rate, with the aim of obtaining a 100 per cent score in the near future.
Source: “The Daily Herald” 2012-09-26