Buff Bay Primary Celebrates Achievement in PEP Exam

With 96 per cent of its students placed on Pathway One and Pathway Two in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exam, the Portland-based Buff Bay Primary School sees 2024 as a year of academic success, after the COVID-19 pandemic caused children to perform below par.

From the 99 students who sat the exam, 55 have been placed on Pathway One, and got the school of their choice, 40 placed on Pathway Two, and four are on Pathway Three.

On realising the troubling situation of poor performances by the students after they resumed to face-to-face classes, the institution embarked on a rescue mission, under the theme ‘Collaboration for Success’.

In the PEP exam, 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.

“The teachers worked assiduously to bridge the gap that was created by COVID, and the children did much better in this exam,” said Principal of the school, Jacqueline Edwards, in an interview with JIS News.

She pointed out that there were problems with the students retaining what they were taught.

Stressing that there is a “big difference” between the classroom setting and online learning, she said that where supervision was lacking, students logged on to the online classes and then engaged in other activities.

Facing the challenge, the team at the school sought outside help, and the institution is now rebounding.

“We got external persons to come in, retired teachers, we had to call on our colleagues at CASE (College of Agriculture, Science and Education) to come in and assist us, and our teachers went above and beyond so that the students could do better in the exam,” the Principal shared.

She said that stakeholder partnership is very good, and persons are always ready to assist the school with donation of equipment and with maintenance, pointing out that all 21 classrooms have at least two fans.

Miss Edwards also credits the outstanding performance of her two top students to the involvement of parents.

“If it were not for their support, I don’t believe that these two children would have done so well. The girl scored an average of 344 per cent, while the boy got 556 per cent,” she told JIS News.

Both students will be going to Titchfield High School in the parish.

Lifespan Company Limited sponsored six smart boards to the school, and they are being utilised at the school in the teaching process.

The company also recently painted the boys bathroom as their Labour Day 2024 project, and the administrators are in dialogue with them about possibly sourcing some additional smart boards for the school.

Vice Principal of the school, Keisha Braimbridge, said the exam’s success came out of a “team effort” that saw teachers turning up early in the mornings and staying back after the end of regular school hours, to engage with the students, and “we utilised the smart boards to enhance the learning experience”.

Top Girl at the school, Alesha Grant, said the award has excited her, and it came from teachers passing on knowledge with respect for students.

Her father, Leonard Grant, said he is happy that his daughter did her best and always focused on her schoolwork, adding that he is very proud of the dedicated teachers at the school.

Top Boy and Top Student, Jeashawn Williams, told JIS News that he was diligent with his work, his mother paid keen attention and the teachers taught with fun.

His mother, Amanda Lindsay Williams, said the award has brought joy to the family, and praised the teachers who taught her son.

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.

PEP is geared at enhancing 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.