Kemps Hill High Lauded by Past Students

Kemps Hill High School, in Clarendon, has been lauded by past teachers and students as a beacon of hope for communities in the south west area of the parish.
At the school’s 35th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service, held on February 1, at the St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Alley, Clarendon, the school was hailed for providing “learning for life,” for 35 years, and living up to its motto, ‘Learning for Life’.
“This motto has manifested itself in the lives of many of us, as we can be found, as past students throughout the world,” remarked past student, Garth James, at the ceremony.
“Kemps Hill High School houses a body of knowledge that teaches you how to be a man, how to be a woman, how to be a servant, how to love and how to care for each other,” he added.
Kemps Hill Secondary School began in February, 1974, providing education to boys and girls from surrounding communities, such as Water Lane, Sedge Pond, Alley and Gimme-Me-Bit, and from districts as far away as Milk River, Rocky Point and Portland Cottage.
The school was upgraded to a comprehensive high and then to a high school and currently has a population of over 1,300 students.
Giving the charge to the current student body, past student, Vincent Mitchell, said that people do not associate themselves with underachievers. “If I did not achieve anything from Kemps Hill High School, I would not have been invited back here, so after another 35 years, some of you will be here as well,” he said.
“I have drunken at Kemps Hill fountain of knowledge, and I wish that the next 35 years will be even more, as the motto says ‘learning for life’,” he added.
Past Principal, Ambassador Carl Marshall, said that poverty and hunger have never prevented students, who had ambition, from making use of the opportunities that the school had to offer, and that the institution has made the communities in Vere, from where the students come, very proud.
“The people of Vere feel good about Kemps Hill High School. They are proud of that school, because they have been able to see the growth and development of the students who have come through the walls of the institution,” he said.
Ambassador Marshall, who served as Principal during the 1980s and early 1990s, pointed out that the school has a great history.
“Kemps Hill High School resonates well with all the stakeholders of that institution. It resonates well with the Ministry of Education and those who have to contemplate policies, in order to create wealth and growth in our country. It resonates well with the community,” he added.
Past teacher, Cassilda Austin-Anderson, said that since the institution began in 1974, with a group of pioneer teachers, the school has “certainly caught the vision of learning for survival, because in today’s world, it is the survival of the fittest.”
Several anniversary activities are scheduled to take place throughout the year, such as a Gospel Concert, High Achievers Day, Improvement Day, Benevolence Day, Past Students Re-union Day, and an Awards Ceremony and Banquet.