... Students consistent with CSEC performance

TAKING A broader look at student performance at Pembroke Hall High, administrators point out that during the last five years, students have been consistently passing four CSEC subjects. In addition, students are oriented towards the skills area and are exposed to a mixture of subjects with an entrepreneurial thrust. This is demonstrated in the average pass rate for CSEC physical education and sports, food and nutrition, and agricultural science, which ranges from 90 to 100 per cent.

Turning to other subjects offered in the curriculum, Andrew Rose, chairman of the Curriculum Implementation Team, notes that although Pembroke Hall High students had been copping several awards at the parish finals and national finals in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) competition over the years, the school was without a formal performing arts programme in the curriculum. He disclosed that theatre arts was introduced in the school’s curriculum in the 2016-2017 academic year. In the 2017 JCDC competition, the students won one gold, four silver, and two bronze medals in the parish finals.

The administration is proud of the school’s flagship music programme under the able leadership of Audley Searchwell. Students have matriculated to the Edna Manley College of the Visual & Performing Arts, where they are making worthwhile contributions to the creative and cultural industries in building Brand Jamaica, Rose reports.

Of note, Norberto Lee, of the Visual Arts Department, has been preparing students from Pembroke Hall High and other traditional high schools to sit visual arts in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) for more than 10 years. The school won the championship trophy in the JCDC Artlympics competition (Jamaica Visual Arts Competition & Exhibition) in 2015, along with $100,000 for the Art Department.

Currently, graduates of Pembroke Hall High attend sixth form at other schools, where they are often selected as student leaders because according to Vice-principal Sharon Foster, “our environment allows students to express themselves”. She disclosed that ahead of the establishment of a sixth form, teachers have volunteered to prepare students to sit several subjects at CAPE.

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PHOTOS BY IAN ALLEN/PHOTOGRAPHER Industrial arts students at Pembroke Hall High School engage in welding.

The Rev Claude Ellis (third left), principal of the Pembroke Hall High School, is flanked by members of the senior management team, which has been guiding the improved performance of the school.