The school of choice in Mandeville
BELAIR SCHOOL, formally known as Manchester Preparatory, located on the Manchester High School campus, was established in 1967 for the children of the bauxite workers in Mandeville. In 1970, the school was relocated to 43 deCarteret Road. In 2013, Belair High School became a grant-in-aid institution, while the preparatory and early childhood departments remained private.
Belair School is the premier school of choice in Mandeville for students at the early childhood and preparatory levels. It exists to enhance the development of students’ academic and physical abilities and seeks to equip them with a value system that allows for the growth of self-assurance, national pride, and a purpose in living.
Belair School excels academically, both at the local and international levels. Classrooms are fully equipped with smart TVs, and smart board and tablets are part of teaching and learning. Teachers are technologically savvy and are trained in the use of the National Standard Curriculum. Belair is one of the top GSAT schools in Manchester. Mastery in Grade 4 Literacy is up to 100 per cent and 98 per cent in numeracy.
Over the years, Belair has participated in the Junior Mathematics Olympiad, where several students from grades four-six made it to the final round. In the 2017 competition, Dian Feng Shen was placed second nationally for grade five, and nine students were awarded honourable mention. In the 2017 Lay Magistrates Essay Completion, Anderson Cameron was awarded top boy for Manchester.
Belair is an inclusive school. Its resource centre caters for students with different academic needs and learning disabilities. It has programmes such as the Belair Early Reading Intervention Programme, which is geared at filling the reading gaps; the Advanced Academic Achievers – to challenge gifted students; English as a second language – to assist students whose native tongue is not English, and access to Literacy Pro Library, an online reading programme.
DYNAMIC PROGRAMME
Belair’s sports programme is dynamic. Currently, Belair is the rural champion and has fourth-place standing in the 2017 JISA Prep School Track and Field Championship; reigning national champions of the Scotiabank Prep School Cricket Competition, 2017. The female football team was placed second in rural competitions. Belair is also involved in other sport activities such as badminton, and table tennis.
Belair enables its students to express themselves in the arts. In 2017, The Belair Senior Choir made it to the national finals in the JCDC Music Festival and was awarded Best Classroom Instrumental Ensemble, and RuoMing Yu was awarded most outstanding piano solo for Class Two. Currently, students from kindergarten to grade six have advanced to the parish finals in the areas of dance, music, and speech. Benjamin Barrett, a budding artist, placed first in the Jamaica Airport Authority Art Competition, and his piece was mounted at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
Belair encourages the participation of the student body in community affairs. Activities that stress charity, friendly competition, and cooperation are valued in order to foster a sense of identity with the community at large and also to develop a sense of patriotism. As a part of its annual charity programme, the students donate items and visit and take Christmas cheer to children at the different children’s home in and around Mandeville.
Belair Early Childhood and Preparatory School continues to be the number-one school of choice in Mandeville, Manchester.