The Anguillian takes pleasure in publishing, on its front page, the photographs, names and CXC subject passes of a number of our students who performed exceptionally well in this year’s regional examinations. The newspaper is also pleased to publish, on the inside pages, the subject passes of the other students whose names are not normally released.
The Ministry of Education has issued the following statement of congratulations to all of the students:
The Ministry of Education congratulates students of the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School (ALHCS) on their success in the May/ June 2017 CXC examinations as well as teachers, parents and all other partners who would have supported them along the way. This year marks the first year that CXC examinations were administered and submitted electronically. Special thanks is extended to the Department of Information, Technology and E-Government Services as well as the team at the ALHCS who did the necessary work to ensure that the computer laboratories were in a state of readiness.
The students at the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School performed commendably. A total of 209 candidates wrote the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examination for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) at the Technical and General Proficiencies. There were 1319 subject entries of which 1188 were at the General Proficiency and 131 at the Technical Proficiency. This year registered an increase in candidate entries and in subject entries over last year. Thirty three subjects are offered by the Caribbean Examinations Council at the CSEC level. Students at the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School entered for 31 of these subjects.
While the performance of candidates in the CSEC May/June 2017 examinations showed a decline when compared to that of 2016, seventy five percent (75%) of the subject entries presented for General and Technical proficiencies achieved grades I to III. Despite the decline in 2017, it is encouraging that 61% of the candidates achieved acceptable grades in four or more subjects up from 59% in the previous year. This year there were 109 candidates achieving acceptable grades in 5 or more subjects compared to 60 candidates in 2016. Seventy-three of these candidates achieved acceptable grades in both English A and Mathematics. There was a decrease in the level of grade achievement with approximately 45% of the subject entries achieving grades 1 and 2 compared with 49% in 2016. Of the 31 subject areas examined, performance improved in 10 subjects, declined in 14 subjects and remained the same in 7 subjects. In 22 of the subjects offered, more than 75 percent of the candidates achieved Grades I to III.
This year, the number of students achieving Grades I to III in English A and English B decreased. In English A 85% of the candidates achieved grades I to III down from 86% in 2016, while in English B 66% of the candidates achieved grades I to III down from 90% in 2016. However, the Ministry is happy to report that there was a noticeable increase in the number of students achieving Grades I to III in Mathematics. This year in Mathematics, 57% of the students achieved Grades I to III compared to 51% in 2016.
With regard to the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC) programme, a total of 605 candidates were entered with 882 subject entries of which 811 were completed. The overall performance of candidates showed a slight decline. This year 31% of the subject entries achieved the level of mastery compared with 32% in 2016, 34% in 2015, 32% in 2014 and 34% in 2013.
In May/June 2017 a total of 127 candidates in Upper and Lower Six at the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School wrote subjects at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency level. There were 523 subject entries. This year registered an increase in both candidate and subject entries over last year. The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) offers a total of 67 Units in 35 subjects at this level. At the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School a total of 49 Units (26 Unit 1 courses and 23 Unit 2 courses) in 31 subjects were offered in 2017. Eighty four percent (84%) of the subject entries presented achieved Grades I to V with 37% of the subject entries achieving grades 1 -3. The numbers indicate that while many of our students performed well, there is still a critical need to raise the level of grade achievement. There is much to be done to improve student achievement and to provide additional avenues for the advancement of all students.
While there were declines in performance in several areas, the majority of students performed well. The Ministry of Education encourages those students who may not have performed as well as they would have liked in their examinations, to continue to work toward improvement and for those who performed well to keep up the hard work. In the words of Winston Churchill “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
In the true spirit of comprehensive education, the Ministry of Education will continue in its efforts to provide all students with an education suited to their aptitude and personal aspirations. The Ministry recognizes the need to develop and improve.
As such the Ministry and Department of Education have embarked on a national project to draft a Master Plan for the Redevelopment of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School in consultation with a team of experts in Education, Human Resources, Engineering, Architecture, the Environment and other related fields. The Ministry will keep the public abreast on how the project develops.
Ministry of Education
28th August 2017
