Keville Happy With Second-Choice School

Keville Cunningham Jr. is pleased to have earned a place at Cornwall College after the 2019 Primary Exit Profile (PEP), even though he admits that the prominent high school for boys in Montego Bay was his second-choice institution.

The 13-year-old student of the Dumfries Primary School in St. James tells JIS News that his first choice was Herbert Morrison Technical High, because he wanted to attend a co-educational institution.

He says, however, that he has no regrets about being placed at Cornwall College, because the school has an excellent science programme and his dream is to become a scientist.

“It is a good school. A lot of persons who attended that school are working in great companies and others own their own businesses,” adds the youngster from Lima District.

Keville says he is also looking forward to potentially joining the Cornwall College football team. “I think if I train well I could play in the DaCosta Cup,” he tells JIS News.

Results from the Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy exams done in 2018, along with the grade-five PEP Performance Task exam done last year and the grade-six Ability Test done in February of this year, were used to place students, who were unable to sit their final PEP exams due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Keville tells JIS News that the Ability Test was “a little bit challenging, but I did manage to do very well because I believed in myself and so did my teacher”.

The youngster’s proud mother Racquel Brown-Cunningham, tells JIS News that she was speechless when she heard of his placement, which was announced last Friday (June 26).

“I was at work; I was overwhelmed; I was so happy I could not concentrate when I heard. To see my firstborn going to Cornwall College – it’s a joy, it’s a pleasure,” she says.

Mrs. Brown-Cunningham credits her son’s success to a combination of hard work, parental participation and faith.

“It was like I was doing PEP as well, as I had to ensure that he did his work every day. I had to encourage him to study because PEP is an exam that makes students think out of the box, so I had to give him work to make him think that way,” she notes.

“But I told him I knew he had the ability to pass for whatever school he chose to attend,” Mrs. Brown-Cunningham tells JIS News.

She contends that his Christian faith “has a lot to do with it, because God has something on his life and I think God has allowed him to be successful”.

Mrs. Brown-Cunningham tells JIS News that her expectations for her son remain high as he enters high school, and she has pledged to work with him to ensure that his transition is as smooth as possible.

“I will be there to support him all the way and guide him. I know that transitioning to high school is not going to be an easy task for him. It is a new environment that he is not used to, but I will be there to encourage him and to help him to make the transition,” Mrs. Brown-Cunningham says.