Waterford Primary Excelled in PEP Exam

Students at Waterford Primary School in St. Catherine have performed excellently, with 60 of the 73 students who sat the 2024 Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams placed on Pathway One and will be attending some of the most prominent high schools.

In the PEP exams, children are placed on one of three Pathways, designed to meet their level of competence.

Pathway One is for students who are performing satisfactorily, the second Pathway is for children who have some form of delayed learning, and the third is for students with special needs.

Principal of Waterford Primary School, Nicola Francis-Grizzle, tells JIS News that the school has been “improving and getting better”, and this year the students did “extremely well”, leaving the staff with a feeling of satisfaction.

“They have made us extremely proud. We know the hard work that they (students) put in. It took some late hours and weekends to get them ready,” she adds, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic had robbed the students of learning time, and the teachers had to spend extra time with them.

“Their foundation was not exactly strong when students returned to face-to-face classes, and the parents were brought into what was required for the students to be ready for the exams, and with their consent to allow them to be at school late in the evenings and on weekends, the 82.19 per cent who won’t require special attention at their high schools is the result of partnership,” the Principal says.

“We offered our classes free for those who couldn’t afford it. I was there with them every Sunday. It was passion, it was teamwork, and team spirit,” she adds.

For senior teacher, Nadine Walker, the hard work and “good support base” provided by the Principal, as well as the discipline of the students, ensured success in the exam. “When you have a vision building on, work with that vision,” she says.

“It was all for the good of our students, and we have reaped the rewards. We want to continue to build our school, and if that’s what it takes, making sacrifices, we will do so,” she adds.

Top Boy at the school, Kesneil Brown, tells JIS News that he found the extra classes to be “very annoying” but after some time, the teachers explained the objective, and he was pleased to be part of the classes.

“It paid off, because I got a good school, and got Top Boy,” he says, adding that he will be going to Wolmer’s Boys’ School.

His mother, Natalie Mills, recalls that on hearing the news that her son had done exceptionally well, she was “excited and shocked at the same time”.

“I could not believe it. Nervous, everything in one,” she says, while offering thanks to the teachers, and encouraged them “to continue doing what they are doing”.

“These teachers don’t pressure parents for funds. The Principal knows every student, and I love that about her. She has transformed Waterford Primary School into something different,” Ms. Mills says.

Chairman of the school Board, Marsden Dennis, gave special recognition to some of the teachers at the recent graduation, noting that the exam success was a result of the work going on at the institution by the Principal and the teachers, with support from members of the community.

The Ministry of Education and Youth reported that 86.7 per cent of the 34,927 students registered to sit the 2023-2024 grade-six examinations got first-choice schools.

Eighty-eight per cent of the entrants were from public schools and the remaining 12 per cent from private institutions.

Nationally, approximately nine out of every 10 students who sat the PEP examinations islandwide for this academic year were placed in a school of first preference.

Sixty per cent of students were ranked in the proficient or highly proficient category this year.

The main objective of PEP is to enhance the academic and critical-thinking capabilities and creativity of students by the end of primary-level education.

It commences with a series of assessments at grade four and ends in grade six.

The three main categories are Performance Task, Ability Test, and Curriculum Test.