Primary Schools in St. James Celebrate Outcomes in PEP Exams

Two primary schools in St. James are celebrating great outcomes in this year’s grade-six sitting of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations, which were administered recently.

Corinaldi Avenue Primary, in Montego Bay, is once again boasting impressive passes, with 168 students getting scores over the 300 mark out of 400 in the exams.

Principal of the school, Deon Stern-Anglin, told JIS News that a cohort of 218 students took the exams.

“Some 75 students got [scores] over 340, [and] 91 per cent of the cohort got pathway one, which means that the students are ready for high school. Last year, it was 80 per cent, so that’s an 11 per cent increase,” Mrs. Stern-Anglin said.

She added that the highest mark in the exams at the school this year was 393.1, which was attained by the school’s top girl, Desandra Clarke.

However, she noted that there was a slight dip in the Mathematics scores this year and the school is examining how it can improve next time around.

Corinaldi Avenue remains one of the top-performing primary schools in the parish, boasting several passes for traditional high schools across the island.

Some 26 students passed for Montego Bay High School for Girls, 29 for Herbert Morrison Technical High, 13 for Cornwall College, 11 for Mount Alvernia High School for Girls, four for Westwood High School, three for Munro College, one for Hampton School, one for Ardenne High School, and three for St. Hilda’s Diocesan High.

Twelve students were successful for Rusea’s High, seven for William Knibb Memorial High, one for Edwin Allen High, one for Kingston Technical, 35 for St. James High, 35 for Irwin High, eight for Anchovy High, one for Muschette High, two for Spot Valley High, 14 for Green Pond High, 10 for Maldon High and one for Hopewell High.

Meanwhile, Principal of Adelphi Primary, Marlon Campbell, told JIS News that the school’s PEP performance was good in comparison to last year.

“They did very well this year. We got a few higher scores than last year, with most of the students getting their first choice. This year’s batch did exceptionally well in most of the areas, because we had high proficiency going straight across the board for our top-five performers,” he noted.

Some 16 students sat the exams at the school this year, two more than previously.

There were two passes for Montego Bay High School for Girls, one for Mount Alvernia High School for Girls, one for Cornwall College, one for William Knibb High School, eight for St. James High School, and three passes for Muschette High.

Mr. Campbell outlined that while there is still room for improvement, the students did well.

The school’s top performer, Kelcia Burke, scored 377 out of 400 for the examinations, getting a 94 per cent average.

“All the other top performers got 80s averages. So, I am very pleased with the performances, and I am pleased with my staff for doing an excellent job coming from grades four to six. The entire team worked well,” he noted.